Where to go for help

Contributed by SarahBright and current to 27 July 2018

Emergency

In case of an emergency:

• Police support is available from a local Police Station on 131 444.
• Contact the general support 24-hours Crisis Care Unit (Department for Communities (Child Protection and Family Support) on (08) 9223 1111 or 1800 199 008 for callers outside the metropolitan area.

Legal information

To read more about Family Violence and Restraining Orders, access Legal Aid WA’s Information Sheets at https://www.legalaid.wa.gov.au/resources/information-sheets#Violence

There are also useful information about the court forms and procedures for FVROs, VROs and MROs on the Magistrate’s Court website at https://www.magistratescourt.wa.gov.au/R/restraining_orders.aspx

Legal advice

For legal advice or to see if a lawyer can provide you with other legal assistance, referrals or to represent you contact:

• Community Legal Centres: http://www.communitylaw.net/CLC-Directory/
• Aboriginal Legal Service: http://www.als.org.au/
• Domestic Violence Legal Unit of Legal Aid WA via the Legal Aid InfoLine on 1300 650 579
• Law Society of WA (for details of private lawyers) – https://www.lawsocietywa.asn.au/find-a-lawyer/ or for LawAccess (information about applying for a pro bono (free) lawyer - https://www.lawsocietywa.asn.au/law-access/how-to-apply/

Non-legal support services

• Family Violence Support Service (provides info and support in regards to FDV including safety planning, assistance with court-related documents, applying for FVROs, in court support, etc.): http://www.courts.dotag.wa.gov.au/F/family_violence_service.aspx
• Domestic Violence Advocacy and Support Centre (access to advocacy, legal and DoC services): http://www.whfs.org.au/services/fdvs/dvas
• Multicultural Women's Advocacy Service (FDV related support and services for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds): http://www.whfs.org.au/services/fdvs/mwas
• Sexual Assault Resource Centre (emergency service offering assistance and support to any person, female or male, aged 13 years and over who has experienced any form of unwanted sexual contact or behaviour in the last 2 weeks. A free counselling service is also available (during business hours) to people who have experienced sexual assault or sexual abuse in the past (more than 2 weeks ago)): http://www.kemh.health.wa.gov.au/services/sarc/
• Family Relationships Advice Line (national telephone service established to assist families affected by relationship or separation issues): http://www.familyrelationships.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
• Kids Helpline: http://www.kidshelp.com.au
• Women's Council for Domestic and Family Violence Services (state-wide peak organisation committed to improving the status of women and children in society): http://www.womenscouncil.com.au/
  • Connect Groups (online directory of Support Groups): http://www.connectgroups.org.au/
  • Womens Domestic Violence Helpline: (08) 9223 1188 or 1800 007 339
  • Domestic Violence Children's Counselling Service(offers counselling for children and their families experiencing family and domestic violence): (08) 9328 1888

Where to go for further resources and training if you are a lawyer or other service professional

For more information about:

1. Trauma Informed Practice and resilient lawyering (Know-more) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iDeyP8ISK4. See Blue Knot Practice Guidelines and Paper for Trauma in the Legal Context - https://www.blueknot.org.au/Home/Front-Page-News/ID/46/Trauma-informed-Practice-in-Domestic-and-Family-Violence-Services).
2. Responding to family violence go to The 1800 Respect website which includes free webinars available to view at https://www.1800respect.org.au/all-past-webinars/
3. Recognising the signs of family violence and responding appropriately go to (Lifeline DV Alert Training) https://www.1800respect.org.au/all-past-webinars/introduction-to-recognising-responding-and-referring-december-2015/
4. Family Violence Risk Screening and Assessment Tools go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqENtO_8XXk, Introduction - https://www.1800respect.org.au/resources-and-tools/risk-assessment-frameworks-and-tools/ and https://youtu.be/zzn2EWUSXng Understanding Frameworks and How to Use Tools safely - https://www.1800respect.org.au/resources-and-tools/risk-assessment-frameworks-and-tools/screening (Reading and Video)
5. Understanding financial abuse go to https://www.1800respect.org.au/all-past-webinars/understanding-financial-abuse-march-2015/
6. Technology Facilitated Abuse go to (WESNET) https://www.1800respect.org.au/all-past-webinars/technology-facilitated-abuse-september-2016/ Also see http://www.dvrcv.org.au/knowledge-centre/technology-safety
7. Improving cultural understanding in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities go to https://www.1800respect.org.au/all-past-webinars/improving-cultural-understanding-december-2016/ and for Improving Cross-Cultural Practice: Strategies and resources for working with women from CALD backgrounds go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZgDt0Gi2h0
8. Vicarious Trauma – looking after yourself at work go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbtvp9DMZGA
9. Supporting women affected by family violence – go to https://www.1800respect.org.au/violence-and-abuse/domestic-and-family-violence/support
10. Safety Planning - https://www.1800respect.org.au/help-and-support/safety-planning/ (5 min Video) https://www.1800respect.org.au/help-and-support/safety-planning/checklist and https://youtu.be/BeVoFCwMcfM
11. Tips aimed at children and mothers experiencing family violence (useful to echo) - https://woah.org.au/what-to-do/
12. Understanding family violence in LGBTIQ communities - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4Ae2AEmtx8
13. Responding to disclosures of sexual assault - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGuJ9Pat-Jw
14. Understanding violence against women with disabilities - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lENvSQ1v7LE
15. Effects of Family Violence for children go to https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/CrisisAndEmergency/FDV/Documents/2015/FactSheet7Impactsoffamilyanddomesticviolenceonchildren.pdf
16. The relationship between elder abuse and family violence go to https://www.dvrcv.org.au/help-advice/elder-abuse-and-family-violence

To hear real life de-identified accounts from people who have experienced family violence to hear how they felt read their stories at http://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/victim-experiences/