General News
1 February, 2024
Family violence training comes to town
Lifeline Victoria is hosting a two day workshop in Maryborough, allowing residents to learn how to recognise, respond and support someone who is a victim of domestic and family violence. The free workshop provided by DV-alert, a domestic violence...
Lifeline Victoria is hosting a two day workshop in Maryborough, allowing residents to learn how to recognise, respond and support someone who is a victim of domestic and family violence.
The free workshop provided by DV-alert, a domestic violence training program, is nationally recognised, with participants receiving full accreditation upon completion.
Lifeline Loddon Mallee executive officer Lisa Renato said the ability to effectively aid domestic and family violence victims can change people’s lives.
“It is a difficult yet vital skill to be able to ask the tough question in a supportive way, respond in a way that isn’t demoralising, and get them the support that they need so they can get out of that situation as quickly as they can,” she said.
“We do a lot of work in role play and sentence stems to practice when someone is suffering, how do you go and ask that next question without breaking any privacy.
“We often have participants say to us how they didn’t realise what they were saying was so wrong, and how it was actually inflaming situations.”
According to the Personal Safety Survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in four Victorian women and one in 14 Victorian men have experienced violence, emotional abuse, or economic abuse by a cohabiting partner since the age of 15.
Women’s Health Loddon Mallee (WHLM) found the Central Goldfields has a much higher rate of family violence compared to other local government areas in the state, ranking seventh out of 79.
Lifeline Victoria have supplied eight workshops in the Loddon Mallee region this financial year. Ms Renato said this extra support is needed to fuel a necessary change.
“We are delivering this training to a number of small communities right across the Loddon Mallee region — we are trying to target communities that don’t often get face-to-face training in their towns,” she said.
“We are also trying to support communities who don’t necessarily have a lot of 24 hour services on the ground, so that there are more people in the community who are able to support people until they can get professional help.”
Maryborough has seen groups such as WHLM, Orange Door and the Maryborough Rotary Club support domestic and family violence campaigns such as 16 Days of Activism and #SayNO.
Ms Renato said Maryborough is fortunate to have these organisations who are motivated to prevent domestic and family violence.
“There is a big presence in Maryborough of people who are very supportive and are being proactive in the domestic and family violence field,” she said.
“It is great to see the interest in people stepping up and building those skills to help their work colleagues, family, friends and neighbours — it makes people who are experiencing domestic and family violence feel more supported.”
The workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 21 and Thursday, February 22 from 9 am to 5 pm at The Hub on 48 Burns Street. To register go to, www.dvalert.org.au.
If you or a loved one are struggling, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 224 636.