Wyndham council is taking a stand against family violence, as the number of reported incidents in the municipality surge past the state average.
Figures from the Western Integrated Family Violence Committee reveal that in 2013-14, there were 2278 reports of family violence in Wyndham – more than double the year before.
Across the state, family violence offences rose by 14.4 per cent during the same period.
In a bid to tackle the problem, the council has created a family violence prevention sub-committee, which will be chaired by White Ribbon Day ambassador and Wyndham community safety roundtable chairman Cr Peter Gibbons.
“The creation of this sub-committee could not come soon enough,” Cr Gibbons said.
“Although these figures reflect an increasing social acceptance of reporting such crimes, Wyndham’s level of family violence is far and away the highest in Melbourne’s west. It also exceeds the statewide average.”
Cr Gibbons said the stark statistics represented real people.
“We might pass them on the street, play sport with them, go to school with them or work alongside them.
“These people – nearly always women – might be our mothers, sisters, nieces, daughters or granddaughters.
“We all have a role to play in creating a community that protects anyone who is exposed to any form of violence.”
The council is finalising membership of the new committee, which will meet quarterly. It is likely to include representatives of Victoria Police, the Justice Department, Western Integrated Family Violence Committee, Wyndham Legal Service, Women’s Health West, and Anglicare.
In August, the council made a submission to a federal Senate inquiry into domestic violence and called for greater resources to tackle the problems and issues it presents.
In its submission, the council pointed out that Wyndham had more reports of family violence in the four years to 2012-13 than any other Melbourne “growth area”.
