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Victoria Legal Aid can help when family violence needs action
Date : 25 Aug 2009
The Victorian government’s family violence laws and Victoria Legal Aid are together helping people affected by family violence, says Bevan Warner, managing director at Victoria Legal Aid.
“One in three Australian women experience physical violence, and one in five sexual violence - many from their partners,” said Mr Warner. “The calls we receive to our free legal information telephone service certainly reflect this, with family violence being the third most common query handled by our staff.”
“We’ve also seen a thirty-seven per cent increase over the past five yearsin the number of grants for legal aid in child protection matters,” said Mr Warner.
“While the Victorian government’s family violence laws condemn this violence and work to protect women and children, going to court can still be incredibly stressful, and the legal process complex and bewildering,” said Mr Warner. “Families are already under immense strain.”
To help unravel the complexities, Victoria Legal Aid in collaboration with the Department of Justice and Victoria Police is helping people get information when they need it most, including information about where they can get help.
Victoria Legal Aid provides free legal advice and funding for lawyers at court for family violence intervention order hearings, and has now also released its free plain language information resources for family members affected by family violence, as well as those accused.
“These free and accessible resources are just one of the many ways we are helping people to better understand and navigate the legal process around family violence,” said Mr Warner.
They can help victims of family violence and those accused of family violence understand what their options are, and cover:
- how to apply for or respond to an intervention order at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria
- how to get ready for a court hearing, including getting legal advice
- what happens at court.
Victoria Legal Aid’s family violence resources can be ordered free of charge or downloaded in PDF format.
Victoria Legal Aid’s free legal information and referrals telephone service operates Monday to Friday, 8.45 am to 5.15 pm. Call 9269 0120 (or 1800 677 402 for country callers).