Web resource:	https://dvcs.org.au
Type:	Report
Title:	Staying home after domestic violence
Authors:	Watson, Jo
Keywords:	Policy;Interagency work;Leaving/Staying;Housing;Service provision
Year:	2014
Publisher:	ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service, Canberra
Notes:	This study by the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) aims to investigate the longer term support needs of women in the ACT who remain in their home following removal of a violent partner. The context set out in the study is that, in the ACT, the majority of women subjected to domestic violence remain in their homes post-crisis. Of 1,053 women in 2013 who were assisted by the DVCS, only 8 entered refuge accommodation; the remainder stayed in their own homes with the offender removed. However, unlike NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, where clients of Staying Home programs are supported for (in some cases) up to 12 months after separation from their ex-partner, women in the ACT who stay home after a violent partner is removed have far more limited access to ongoing support services, generally for a maximum of only three months post-separation. The study analysed case files of 35 DVCS clients and conducted interviews with key stakeholders. Of these, 11 were home owners (with mortgages) and eight were private renters. The study examines clients’ experiences in the following areas: homelessness; safety; economic disadvantage; children’s issues; health issues; social isolation; and family law. A key finding is that 54.6 percent of home owners and 62.5 percent of private renters lost their home within 12 months after their abusive ex-partner was excluded from the home. The author proposes eight recommendations to ensure there is adequate support available for women (and their children) in the ACT who stay at home following the removal of a violent ex-partner. She concludes that effective legal processes that enable women to stay home after violence (such as exclusion orders) are not sufficient. Without appropriate, ongoing supports available to women in these circumstances, the likely result for the majority of home owners and private renters is that they will lose their home.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19604
Physical description:	47 p.
Appears in Collections:	Reports

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