Victoria government logo
fvrim.vic.gov.au

The Royal CommissionExternal Link found that ‘too little effort is devoted to preventing the occurrence of family violence in the first place’ and that primary prevention only attracted a small amount of funding. It called for long-term investment to support the ‘complex and lengthy process’ of changing behaviours and attitudes.

Most specifically related to the importance of a coordinated approach to primary prevention, the Royal Commission stated that:

Prevention programs are most effective when they form part of a coordinated approach. The Commission therefore recommends that the Victorian Government adopt a prevention strategy as a priority component of a Statewide Family Violence Action Plan. That strategy should be implemented in the 12 months following the delivery of this report. It should be aligned to the government’s proposed Gender Equality Strategy. In addition, a mechanism for overseeing family violence prevention work in Victoria should be established, providing specialist advice and support to government and the community.

The Royal Commission made a series of recommendations that relate to primary prevention. These recommendations emphasised the need for:

  • creating a function to oversee prevention activities in Victoria and providing expert advice, research and monitoring
  • awareness-raising campaigns and prevention programs to reflect Victoria’s diversity
  • a primary prevention strategy, to be implemented through a series of three-year action cycles
  • prevention to be emphasised in the recommended statewide family violence action plan, with required funding identified
  • effective governance arrangements
  • councils to include measures to prevent family violence in their public health and wellbeing plans, and to further consider how to encourage family violence prevention at the local government level
  • industry planning to support the prevention workforce
  • measures of prevention in government contracts
  • respectful relationships education in all Victorian government schools.

Since then, the government’s approach to implementing these recommendations has been laid out through several plans, commitments and legislation, most of which are captured in Figure 6 (later in this report).

Primary prevention features in Victoria’s family violence plans and structures, for example:

  • Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s Plan for ChangeExternal Link (2016) commits to delivering a primary prevention strategy to outline a ‘renewed focus on preventing family violence from occurring in the first place through education, community awareness and targeted programs’, a prevention agency with dedicated funding, a gender equality strategy and the statewide rollout of Respectful Relationships. Two of the plan’s four domains have outcomes and indicators related to primary prevention: Domain 1: Prevention, which includes four long-term outcomes, and Domain 4: System (see Figure 5). To date, two rolling actions plans have been released to achieve the commitments outlined in this 10-year plan:
    • Family Violence Rolling Action Plan 2017–2020External Link included prevention as a headline reform area and recommitted to the Respectful Relationships initiative, establishing a prevention agency and furthering gender equality.
    • Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020–2023External Link includes primary prevention as a priority area, with actions spanning prevention projects and campaigns, workforce development, research and evaluation, and coordination and oversight. Of particular relevance are actions to establish a new prevention governance group, develop a prevention workforce plan and develop a prevention system coordination model to ‘build and better coordinate statewide, regional and local grassroots activities and underpin work across a wider range of settings and sectors through sustained investment’.

Figure 5: Domains of the Family Violence Outcomes Framework

  • Building From Strength: 10-year industry plan for family violence prevention and responseExternal Link (2017) describes a vision of a highly skilled prevention workforce that strengthens the ability of the system to address the drivers of all forms of family violence and work at the population level.
  • The Centre for Workforce ExcellenceExternal Link was established as part of Family Safety Victoria in 2017 to drive implementation of the industry plan and, more broadly, drive development of workforces that intersect with family violence. The Centre for Workforce Excellence has recently been elevated to sit outside Family Safety Victoria, allowing its scope to be expanded to other social services sector workforces. We note some functions, such as Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) implementation, remain within Family Safety Victoria. Key pieces of work led by the centre include:
    • Rollout of the MARAM FrameworkExternal Link and associated practice guidance, which have in part aimed to increase understanding (across a broad range of professions) of the drivers of family violence.
    • Preventing Family Violence & Violence Against Women Capability FrameworkExternal Link (2017), which outlines the foundational skills required for workforces to deliver prevention of violence against women initiatives, ‘with recognition that future development to encompass all forms of family violence will be required’. There is also a Responding to Family Violence Capability Framework. Both prevention and response capability frameworks are in the process of being updated.
  • The Family Violence Research Agenda 2021–2024External Link sets out the Victorian Government’s priorities for research on family violence and sexual violence and harm. It includes primary prevention as a research priority, with an emphasis on intersectionality.
  • Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families Agreement 2018–2028External Link is the principal agreement between the Victorian Government and the Aboriginal community to address family violence. The agreement sets out five strategic priorities to be progressed through three successive action plans and assessed through a monitoring, evaluation and accountability plan. Strategic priority 2 is Aboriginal-led prevention and outlines a vision that ‘All prevention and early intervention initiatives will be led by Aboriginal communities and based on their choices and their solutions’.

As committed to in Ending Family Violence, the following have been key levers in driving primary prevention in Victoria:

The complementary gender equality agenda is driven by the following:

  • Safe and Strong: Victorian Gender Equality StrategyExternal Link (2016) recognises gender equality as ‘a precondition for the prevention of family violence and other forms of violence against women and girls’. It acknowledges that ‘for too long, state-wide coordination of gender equality and initiatives to end family violence have been sporadic and underfunded’ and sets out a framework for sustained activity that aims to achieve attitude and behavioural change.
  • The Gender Equality Act 2020External Link came into force in March 2021. The first legislation of its kind in Australia, it requires public sector agencies, universities and local councils to measure, report on and progress gender equality in their organisations. The Act also establishes the Public Sector Gender Equality CommissionerExternal Link to oversee implementation.

Additionally, family violence prevention is included as part of health and wellbeing planning:

Figure 6: Timeline of key strategies, plans and events in primary prevention since the Royal Commission

Figure 6: Timeline of key strategies, plans and events in primary prevention since the Royal Commission

Gender Equality - addressing the underlying Social Context

  • 2016: Safe and Strong Victorian Gender Equality Strategy (overarching strategy or framework)
  • 2020: Gender Equality Act 2020 (legislation)
  • 2020: Commissioner for Gender Equality started (new agency)

Primary Prevention of Family Violence and Violence Against Women - addressing the Drivers

  • 2017: Free from Violence Strategy (overarching strategy or framework) - linked to Free from Violence RAP 2018–2021 and Free from Violence 2nd RAP 2022–2025
  • 2017: Preventing Family Violence and Violence Against Women Capability Framework (overarching strategy or framework)
  • 2018: Prevention of Family Violence Act 2018 (legislation)
  • 2018: Respect Victoria started (new agency)
  • 2018: Free from Violence RAP 2018–2021 (rolling action plan for the Free from Violence Strategy)
  • 2022: Free from Violence 2nd RAP 2022–2025 (rolling action plan for the Free from Violence Strategy)

Response to Family Violence (all overlaps with primary prevention of family violence and violence against women)

  • 2016: Ending Family Violence Victoria's Plan for Change (overarching strategy or framework) - linked to Family Violence RAP 2017–2020 and Family Violence Reform RAP 2020–2023
  • 2017: Building from strength 10 year Industry Plan (overarching strategy or framework) - linked to Strengthening the foundations 1st RAP 2020–2023
  • 2017: Family Violence RAP 2017–2020 (rolling action plan for Ending Family Violence Victoria's Plan for Change)
  • 2018: Dhelk Dja agreement 2018–2028 (overarching strategy or framework) - linked to Dhelk Dja 3 Year Action Plan 2019–2021
  • 2019: Dhelk Dja 3 Year Action Plan 2019–2021 (rolling action plan of Dhelk Dja agreement 2018–2028)
  • 2019: Strengthening the foundations 1st RAP 2020–2023 (rolling action plan of Building from strength 10 year Industry Plan)
  • 2021: Family Violence Reform RAP 2020–2023 (rolling action plan for Ending Family Violence Victoria's Plan for Change)
  • 2021: Family Violence Research Agenda 2021–2024 (overarching strategy or framework) - linked to Family Violence Reform RAP 2020–2023
Download Figure 6: Timeline of key strategies, plans and events in primary prevention since the Royal Commission

Reviewed 31 August 2022

Was this page helpful?