Earlier today, the Albanese Government announced a 925 million dollar plan to combat domestic violence, named the Leaving Violence Program. It aims to aid victims of domestic violence in leaving abusive households with less fear of retaliation or further abuse. Alongside the Leaving Violence program, there will be other programs that aim to prevent abusive behaviour from being fostered by online content such as violent pornography and male extremist views.

These methods include banning the creation and distribution deepfake or AI generated pornography, and counter-influencing violent and misogynistic content online. A new phase of the Stop It At The Start campaign will also begin in mid-June 2024 and will run until 2025 to draw more attention to spotting signs of abuse and preventing it.

An unprecedented uptick of abuse and murders has been taking place in 2024, with one woman being killed by a current or former romantic partner in an incident of domestic violence. A number of factors contribute to this, including financial and housing insecurity. As such, it becomes difficult for a woman to leave an abusive situation, as they run the risk of losing a number of securities provided by an abusive relationship. The Leaving Violence program will provide up to five thousand dollars for any woman seeking to leave an abusive relationship to ease financial insecurities.

If you or anyone you know is affected by domestic violence, please call:

Lifeline: 13 11 14

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Gorodenkoff

Produced By: Steven Samaras

Featured In Story: Shaan Ross- Smith, Director of the MATE Bystander Program and Former Director of DV Connect.

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 1 May 2024