Domestic violence services in NSW

Abstract

The government and healthcare facilities have established programs to offer domestic violence services and help mitigate the NSW region's physical, emotional, sexual, or psychological abuse. The study will be crucial to social workers, the criminal justice system, and domestic violence service providers as it creates a holistic perspective of the rate of domestic violence among the CALD group in the Nepean and Blue Mountain region, as well as compiling a list of services available. The literature review indicates that CALD members rarely seek the services, and this is due to fear of discrimination, stereotyping, and stigma. However, there are programs established to enhance the well-being of Aboriginals in NSW in the case of domestic violence, such as the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme (WDVCAS) and Women's Health NSW organization. The study should be completed within two months.

Introduction

Millions of people die or suffer from domestic violence each year. However, women are more vulnerable to domestic violence than men. Domestic violence can entail verbal abuse, sexual assault, financial deprivation, physical violence, intimidation, or social isolation. Research indicates that 1 in 4 women in Australia from age 15 experience sexual or physical abuse by an intimate partner (Domestic, family & sexual violence statistics - DVNSW - domestic violence NSW 2022). Intimate partner murders are approximately one each week, and an estimated ten women get hospitalized due to injuries resulting from domestic violence (Domestic, family & sexual violence statistics - DVNSW - domestic violence NSW 2022). Consequently, research indicates that approximately 40 000 individuals experience physical violence by age of fifteen in New South Wales (NSW) in Australia (Freeman, 2022). Penrith LGA has registered many domestic violence cases in the region (Freedman, 2018). However, the government and healthcare facilities have established programs to offer domestic violence services and help mitigate the NSW region's physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse.

Theoretical background

The Bureau of Crimes Statistics and Research (BCSR) indicates that the Western Sydney region in NSW is highly affected by domestic violence. Despite many reported domestic violence cases, research indicates that the unreported cases are still numerous as most families are victims (Freedman, 2018). The Nepean Blue Mountains (NBM) region has the highest number of Aboriginal people who experience poor health services, access to transportation, and isolation. The Penrith LGA region presented the highest number of domestic violence victims compared to the NSW region (Spangaro, 2017). However, Indigenous Australians are more vulnerable to experiencing direct and indirect impacts of domestic violence.

Domestic violence became worse in Australia during the pandemic period. Research indicates that during this period, the cases surpassed the capacity of the support services in the NSW region (Kennedy, 2020). There were many cases of sexual assaults, strangulation, severe head injuries, and threats of murder due to restrictions (lockdown) put in to contain the virus, financial stress, and lack of employment. For instance, 10% of women experienced domestic violence, while 50% of women who had previous experiences stated that the abuse was more frequent and severe during the coronavirus (Kennedy, 2020). The number of victims waiting for counseling services also spiked, indicating a need for further domestic violence support services to be established. Furthermore, people in Australia's NSW region seek help in domestic violence cases using different methods. Some informal methods include; talking to colleagues, friends, family, or religious leaders. Formal means, include reporting to social workers, police, domestic violence agencies, counselors, or doctors (Ghafournia & Easteal, 2019). Some factors determining the most appropriate method to seek help include income, race, and gender, as Australia is a multicultural country, with 49% of citizens either being immigrants or having parents born overseas (Ghafournia & Easteal, 2019). The culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) minority group is proliferating. However, despite the increasing number of immigrants and multiculturalism in New South Wales, there are still discrimination cases in public areas. Research indicates that CALD women are most vulnerable to domestic violence but rarely seek legal domestic violence services due to fear of being stereotyped, politically harassed, or a backlash (Prentice et al., 2017). However, racism, discrimination, and stereotyping among domestic violence service providers can deter Indigenous people from seeking legal help, escalating cases of abuse.

Cost, stereotyping, and language barriers also deter victims from seeking assistance. Research indicates that 8% of the NBM residents are delayed in seeking medical specialists, psychiatry, and other services due to the cost, with most people residing in the Penrith, St. Marys, and Lithgow-Mudgee areas (Herbert & Bromfield, 2020). A victim could fear being accused of bringing shame to the community and face stigmatization, resolving to become resilient to domestic violence (Vaughan et al., 2019). However, there are programs to train the clinical health staff in dealing with domestic violence cases (Ghafournia & Healey, 2022). Identifying victims of sexual assault and domestic violence help clinicians offer the most appropriate care and refer them to other assistance. For instance, most domestic violence victims tend to present symptoms of suicidal ideation, personality disorder, anorexia, anxiety, and depression (Trankle & Reath, 2019). Domestic violence programs are limited in regions such as the Nepean, limiting access to such service and victims are given accommodation. Most domestic violence services focus on the CALD group and Aboriginal women from diverse cultural groups in NSW (Ogunsiji & Clisdell, 2017). Therefore, various services are established to support victims of Domestic violence in the NSW and the Blue Mountain region. However, most victims fail to seek the services due to financial and language barriers and fear of discrimination and stereotyping.

Project MethodsThe idea to research domestic violence services and the procedure for accessing them originated from my experience during my placement in the Department of Communities and Justice working in the child protection sector in a Response team. I would assisting caseworkers to find appropriate services. In some instances, referrals were hard to make and it usually took long before the families could get services. I wanted to find a way to make the referral process more accessible. I sent out a quantitative survey to colleagues working within the Response team within DCJ to seek information on how this source of information could be presented in an informative and accessible way (Appendix 1). I only received eight responses from this, but the information was valuable.

I decided to establish a resource that could compile in a table the domestic violence services within the local areas (Nepean and Blue Mountain). This will allow for a quick overview of available services and caseworkers to see if the family fits the criteria. 87% of respondents to my questionnaire noted that they would like this included in the resource. Then there would also be information on how to refer the family, making it a streamlined process. I used various methods of data collection including observation and literature review.

Results

I was able to distribute this resource on domestic violence services amongst caseworkers and observe the benefits of the resource to their practice. I had hypothesized that a compiled list would streamline the process and wanted feedback on if this was proven. I utilized a second survey to gather feedback from caseworkers on the effectiveness of the resource and any improvements that would be needed. I could haveten responses in this survey, and the feedback was quite general, but overall concluded that the referral process had been time reduced.

Discussion

Domestic violence is an issue of concern in various communities ad require urgent solutions to mitigate its impact on society. Some people are reluctant to report any case of domestic violence. Most are hospitalized, with some deaths recorded due to domestic violence. Women are the most affected group from being mistreated by their intimate male friends. Women should be provided with health services for both physical and mental well-being. In case of any need for referral, there is a need to follow the proper procedure to send a victimized woman to another service. Moreover, women need to be educated on how to prevent and deal with domestic violence. 

Strengths and limitations of to project

The research methods used to gather data in the project provided reliable findings on the topic. There were adequate resources to support the project in terms of information since most people were willing to discuss the issue of domestic violence. The results presented domestic violence as an issue of concern that requires a holistic approach to prevent it from occurring and help the victims. However, finding the affected women who have been abused was challenging because of the fear of stigmatization.   

Conclusion

Domestic violence is an issue of great concern in most communities. Most victims of domestic violence fail to seek assistance because of fear of stigmatization, cost and lack of knowledge about what they are supposed to do due to minimal awareness. Health care setting needs to redesign to accommodate the victims and ensure they are holistically assisted in enhancing their recovery. Moreover, seeking assistance for a domestic violence victim should be enhanced for everyone to access and benefit.

Acknowledgments

The project was successful after the contribution of various members of societies involved in the study. The results reveal loopholes in society regarding domestic violence. Future research on the topic requires allocating more resources to gather more relevant information. The research should utilize the exact victims and the abusers as the source of information. It should also include healthcare providers and other professionals interacting with victims from different societies.

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