Urgent call for action with Benalla’s family violence rates nearly double the Victorian average

“Improving the safety of women in our region is a priority that needs addressing urgently,” Ms Cleeland said.

According to the Crime Statistics Agency, Mitchell Shire had a 14 per cent rise in family violence incidents in December 2023 compared to the previous year.

In Benalla, there were nearly 300 offences recorded in the past year.

In Mitchell Shire, there were more than 700 breaches of family violence orders — nearly double the next highest offence recorded.

Both Mitchell Shire and Benalla Rural City’s family violence rates are nearly double the state average.

Victoria’s state average for family violence rate per 100,000 people is 1384.7, compared to Seymour’s rate of 2163.5 and Benalla’s rate of 2525.4.

It’s the same situation in Strathbogie, Greater Shepparton, Greater Bendigo and Campaspe local government areas.

Across Victoria, there have been about 54,000 breaches of intervention orders in the past year.

Alongside call-outs every six minutes and a family violence arrest every 18 minutes, Victoria Police is engaging with 80 people committing family violence every day.

Ms Cleeland said these numbers indicated that the electorate was in the midst of a family violence crisis.

“Despite these heartbreaking statistics, Seymour and Benalla do not have dedicated physical points of contact for those experiencing family violence,” she said.

“These are towns where family violence incidents outnumber all other criminal offences combined and make up 80 per cent of the local police’s workload.

“When the floods hit Seymour, one of the few crisis accommodations available for women fleeing domestic violence was inundated and had to close for an entire year.

“Victims of family violence had no alternative but to flee to Shepparton, Wangaratta or Melbourne, out of their community and away from family, support and routine.

“All the while, the perpetrator remained in the community.

“For these women, leaving can be just as dangerous as staying.”

Ms Cleeland said the recent state budget did not instil much confidence when it came to improving the situation, with cuts being made to child protection, family violence service delivery, and women’s policy.

“No to Violence, a family violence not-for-profit, has already said the lack of support in this budget was a ‘missed opportunity’, and that ‘this budget failed to deliver’,” she said.

“Our community doesn’t want matching earrings and colour-coded outfits, we need genuine support and funding to address the issue.

“We need bail reform — something that was once again raised with this government recently.

“We need support networks, we need dedicated local crisis locations, and we need to be heard.”

The Victorian Government has been contacted for comment.