Media Release 30 September 2009

Action! YouTube video combats violence against women in the west

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland will launch an innovative new YouTube video at Women's Health West at 10.30am on 1 October 2009. Women's Health West and Victoria Police collaborated to produce the short film that shows women how to collect evidence if their intervention order has been breached.

Intervention orders are issued by courts against perpetrators of violence to protect women and children who have experienced family violence. They outline certain conditions to increase the woman's safety. Unfortunately, intervention orders are frequently ignored and those conditions then breached, seriously compromising the safety of family violence victims.

'What if the intervention order is breached? How to collect evidence' is a five minute film featuring local women demonstrating simple and practical ways of gathering evidence.

"Family violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15-44," said Dr Robyn Gregory, Chief Executive Officer of Women's Health West.

"When women report a breach of their intervention order to Victoria Police we want them to know that we will take all breaches seriously and follow our obligations under the Code of Practice for the Investigation of Family Violence" Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said.

"A breach of an intervention order is a criminal offence and we know from our data that women's safety is often compromised when this occurs. Where appropriate we will use our arrest powers to ensure the safety and well being of victims."

In 2007/08, Victoria Police charged perpetrators for breaches of intervention orders in 7547 instances. This increased to 7791 in 2008/09 (increase of 3% from 2007/08).

"So it's vital for women's safety that they understand their rights, and methods for gathering evidence of any breaches of their intervention order. Up to now, women have struggled to provide evidence of the breach to the police, given it usually occurs in the privacy of their home or without witnesses."

"This fantastic film project offers important advice in new and accessible ways to increase the safety of women in the west," said Dr Gregory. "It will also make the difficult job of policing these breaches easier."

"While three quarters of women in the north-west metropolitan region have home internet access, we are also producing DVDs for those women unable to access the YouTube version."

The film will be available from 1 October on YouTube, the Victoria Police website, the Women's Health West website, other family violence organisation's sites and on DVD.

Women experiencing abuse from family members can contact Women's Health West on 9689 9588 or 1800 015 188 after working hours or the Police on 000. Remember committing family violence is against the law and there are laws to protect victims of family violence.

URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw3dQeSvyw4 EMBED

MEDIA CONTACT

For more information contact Nicola Harte, Communications Co-ordinator at Women's Health West on 9689 9588 or email nicolah@whwest.org.au or contact on the day on 0432 637 933. For all other general media enquiries contact us via email.