As part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, an event was held at the Parliament of Victoria featuring guest speakers, installations, and discussions regarding alarming family violence statistics across the state.
The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, was in attendance alongside representatives from the Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Seymour-based Sustaining Economic Empowerment and Dignity for Women (SEED) Project.
“It was a privilege to have Renae and Penny from the SEED Project join me at Parliament this week where we gathered to recognise the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence,” Ms Cleeland said.
“This team is doing incredible work in empowering our local women to overcome financial challenges and improve their economic wellbeing in the face of hardship.
“Based in Seymour, the SEED Project is such a crucial resource in a region that has a clear lack of support options.”
Ms Cleeland said gender-based violence continued to be a major concern in her community, with family violence rates being nearly double the state average in towns like Seymour and Benalla.
“Despite family violence being such a prevalent issue in our towns, there are still closures of some of our crucial services in areas like Benalla that are in desperate need of more support,” Ms Cleeland said.
“While we can sit down and talk about the issue over and over again in Parliament, many of our local towns need immediate assistance from this Government when it comes to providing resources that can prevent this violence.
“I will hold this government to account to ensure our dedicated service providers in the family violence sector are given every opportunity to help eliminate this violence from our towns.”
Latest data from the Crime Statistics Agency shows that the family violence rate in Benalla is nearly 53 per cent higher than the state average.
Nearby areas have similarly troubling figures, with the Mitchell Shire being 50 per cent higher than the state-wide average and Greater Shepparton is 71 per cent higher.
Breaches of family violence are also the most frequent criminal incident in both Benalla and Greater Shepparton, and the second most frequent in the Mitchell Shire.
