Family Violence Services in Victoria
Photo credit: Photo by Dan Meyers for Unsplash
- Crisis & Emergency Support
The Orange Door
The Orange Door is a free service for adults, children, and young people experiencing or at risk of family violence. Provides safety planning, housing support, and referrals.
https://www.orangedoor.vic.gov.au/
- Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre
Safe Steps provides 24/7 crisis support, safety planning, and referrals for women and children experiencing family violence.
safesteps.org.au
Phone – 1800 015 188
1800RESPECT
This is the national family and sexual violence support service. Provides confidential counselling and information.
1800respect.org.au
Phone – 1800 737 732
Safe Housing & Accommodation
Housing Victoria
This service provides crisis and emergency accommodation for people experiencing homelessness or escaping family violence.
https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/crisis-emergency-accommodation
Interpreter services
https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/interpreter-services
Get help with housing
https://services.dffh.vic.gov.au/getting-help
If you are in urgent need of somewhere to stay, call the 24-hour state wide toll free number to get help. To speak with a housing and support worker, if you are homeless, at risk of homelessness or escaping family violence, call 1800 825 955. This is a 24 hour, state wide, toll free number. This number will direct your call to a service closest to you, or if the call is outside business hours, it will be directed to Salvation Army Crisis Services.
Victoria Legal Aid
Legal Aid provides free legal advice and assistance, including help with intervention orders and family violence matters.
https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/family-violence-and-family-violence-intervention-orders
Phone – 1300 792 387
Magistrates’ Court of Victoria
The Magistrate’s Court has information on applying for a Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) for protection from violence (FVIO):
https://www.mcv.vic.gov.au/family-matters/family-violence-intervention-orders-fvio
- Legal Support & Protection
Victoria Police
Police can help with intervention orders and domestic violence response.
https://www.police.vic.gov.au/family-violence
- Workshops & Community Support
Safe and Equal
Safe and Equal offers training, professional development, and community workshops on preventing and responding to family violence.
safeandequal.org.au
Relationships Australia Victoria
This service provides free group programs for women and counselling for couples and individuals affected by family violence.
relationshipsvictoria.org.au
No to Violence
This service offers training and programs for professionals and community members working to address men’s use of violence.
ntv.org.au
- Comprehensive Family Violence Service Directory
For a full list of specialist family violence services in Victoria, visit:
Safe and Equal’s Service Finder
Find a service:
https://safeandequal.org.au/find-a-service/
- Support For Men
Men’s Referral Service
This service provides telephone counseling, information, and referrals for men impacted by family violence, whether as victims or perpetrators.
No to Violence: ntv.org.au
Phone: 1300 766 491
Victims of Crime Helpline
This helpline offers support and information to male victims of family violence, including guidance on available services and the legal process.
victimsofcrime.vic.gov.au
Phone: 1800 819 817
MensLine Australia
This is a telephone and online counselling service for men with family and relationship concerns.
https://mensline.org.au/
Phone: 1300 78 99 78
Man Cave
The Man Cave is a preventative mental health and emotional literacy charity aiming for a world in which every man has healthy relationships, contributes to his community and reaches his full potential.
https://themancave.life/
Contact the Man Cave
https://themancave.life/contact/
White Ribbon
The White Ribbon Campaign is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls.
https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/
Phone: 1800 737 732
- For Children
Safe Steps
Safe Steps provides support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for women and children who are victims of family violence. Safe Steps is Victoria’s 24/7 family violence response centre.
https://www.safesteps.org.au/
Phone: 1800 015 188
- Family violence support for LGBTQIA+
The Orange Door
This is a free service for children and young people experiencing or at risk of family violence. They provide support for safety, well-being, and family needs.
https://www.orangedoor.vic.gov.au/
bRAVe Steps
bRAve Steps is a therapeutic service in Cranbourne for children and young people aged 18 and under who are impacted by family violence.
https://www.relationshipsvictoria.org.au/affected-family-violence/brave-steps/
Victoria Police
The police will assist if you are:
- someone experiencing violence,
- concerned friends or family or
- neighbours or services
You can report family violence by:
- calling Triple Zero (000) in an emergency
- contacting your local police station
If English is not your first language, call Triple Zero (000) and tell them your language. They will connect you to an interpreter.
If you have a hearing impairment or have difficulty being understood verbally, the National Relay Service (NRS) website explains how the NRS can assist with an emergency call.
Find out more at: https://www.police.vic.gov.au/family-violence
Rainbow Door
Rainbow Door Helpline provides free support and referral for LGBTIQA+ community members, and family and friends supporting LGBTIQA+ people.
https://www.rainbowdoor.org.au/
Phone: 1800 729 367
A number of studies have found that intimate partner violence is reported at similar rates in same-gender relationships to heterosexual relationships, while some studies have found higher rates. Pride in Prevention is a guide to the primary prevention of violence experienced by LGBTIQ communities.
Download the resources from Rainbow Health Australia here:
https://rainbowhealthaustralia.org.au/pride-in-prevention
- Support for Women and Girls with Disabilities
Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities
Violence against women and girls with disabilities is a prevalent, serious and preventable form of human rights abuse. This violence takes many forms, occurs at all levels of society, and can be perpetrated by both individuals and institutions, in many different contexts.
See the Our Watch report, Changing the Landscape.
https://www.ourwatch.org.au/change-the-story/changing-the-landscape
and download the report at:
https://assets.ourwatch.org.au/assets/Key-frameworks/Changing-the-landscape-AA.pdf
- Overcoming Resistance and Backlash
Resistance and backlash are common and ongoing challenges faced by practitioners and organisations working on primary prevention of family violence and all forms of violence against women. This is a complex phenomenon where we work, learn, live and play. Those working in primary prevention have a responsibility to reflect on how prevention efforts may provoke hostile, aggressive and even violent forms of backlash directed at those advocating change, leaders or organisations as a whole. This overt backlash may be coupled with more subtle or passive forms of resistance, which may include:
- denying the gendered drivers of violence against women;
- refusing any responsibility to address the issues; and
- delaying or obstructing progressive change to patriarchal norms, practices or structures.
It is important to understand, monitor and develop practical strategies to minimise and overcome different forms of resistance. The ‘Understanding, monitoring and responding to resistance and backlash’ report seeks to advance our understanding of this issue and to define practical approaches to monitoring, assessing and responding to backlash and resistance that emerges in organisational settings.
Find out more here:
https://www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/understanding-backlash-and-resistance