The Australian federal government announced last week that they will be providing women leaving a violent relationship access to a one-off payment of up to $5,000 to help them establish a life free of violence.

Demand for domestic violence services has increased during the latest Covid-19 lockdown in New South Wales, with providers saying they have received fifty percent more calls from women with children seeking support, as well as more men calling for help, seeking support to stop themselves from harming their own family.

There must come a point when we as a nation say “enough is enough” when it comes to stories of intimate partner violence being perpetrated against women and children by their partners, ex-partners and fathers.  In the past two weeks alone, the horrific story of Gold Coast woman Kelly Wilkinson, who was set alight in her own home, allegedly by her estranged husband, and that of Henry Shepherdson, who strapped his infant daughter to himself and jumped over a reservoir at a tourist attraction in South Australia, are but a couple of the incredibly distressing stories that continue to make news and bring to our collective consciousness just how lethal domestic violence can become.  

The incredibly heart-breaking story of the murder of siblings Jack and Jennifer Edwards at the hands of their father in Sydney in 2018, highlighted again how precarious and fatal domestic violence situations can become, particularly when the police and other authorities fail in the exercise of their duties.  

A research report released by the Disability Royal Commission examines the nature and extent of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation against people with disabilities in Australia.

In an interview with Ray Hadley, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw has indicated that forced marriages may be a bigger problem than we think in Australia, as this sort of crime is “likely to be underreported”.

It was recently revealed that a group of men aged 18-41 used social media to groom around 140 young girls in order to "ultimately engage in sexual contact with them".

By Rachael Wong

The federal government has announced 40 new projects to provide around 700 new safe places for women and children escaping domestic violence across the country. The extra beds are expected to accommodate about 6000 people each year.