impact
  • Home
    • About impact >
      • impact in a nutshell >
        • impact's origin story >
          • bio: Kathy Kaplan OAM
        • What else does impact do? >
          • Advocacy & awareness raising
          • Interest-free loans
          • Grants to Refuges
          • Bursaries
          • impactFUL launch party
          • Childcare at Moorabbin Court
      • Our Board >
        • Our vision, mission & values
        • Our policies >
          • Constitution
          • COVID-SAFE measures
          • Acknowledgement of Country
          • Privacy Policy
          • Inclusion Policy
          • Volunteer Policy
          • Child Safety Policy
        • AGM 2020
        • Last year's achievements
        • Board Only Section
    • What is Family Violence?
    • Myth Busting
    • Upcoming events
  • Ways to Help
    • How YOU can help
    • Messages of Hope
    • Donate your dollars
    • Donate your time, effort & skills
    • Bags of Love >
      • Bags of Love - how to help
      • Bags of Love - what to give
    • Trees of Love
    • Court Childcare Project
    • Give them a meal
    • Purses with Purpose
    • Become a sponsor >
      • Sponsor financially
      • Sponsor in kind
  • Get help
    • if your friend needs help
    • Who you can turn to
    • Create a safety plan
    • Tips to help a friend >
      • Helpful things to say, ask or do
      • Things NOT to say, ask or do
    • Tips for youth
    • Tips for male victims
    • Tips for LGBTIQ victims
    • Tips for older people
    • Tips if you witness violence
    • Stay safe online >
      • Conduct an online safety audit
      • Create a strong password
      • Mobile phone safety
      • Computer & internet safety
      • Online banking safety
      • Clear your devices' history
      • Disable tracking devices
  • Get involved
    • Become a Member
    • Volunteer >
      • Coffee Lunch & Craft Group
    • Events >
      • Upcoming events
      • Highlights of past events
  • Facts & Stats
    • What is Family Violence?
    • Australia's great shame: the facts >
      • Australia's death toll: 2021
      • Australia's death toll: 2020
      • Australia's death toll: 2019
      • Australia's death toll: 2018
    • Cycle of Abuse
    • Warning signs
    • Gaslighting
    • Royal Commission into Family Violence
    • National Community Attitudes Survey
  • Articles, Blogs & Personal Stories
    • News Articles & Blogs
    • Personal Stories
  • Contact us

Domestic violence victims benefit from partnership between lawyers and hospital staff

13/8/2017

0 Comments

 
Leaving an abusive relationship can be a dangerous and terrifying experience for many women.
There can also be a range of complex legal issues including child custody, intervention orders, tenancy contracts, and financial matters that can create barriers for leaving the relationship.
In a South Australian first, a collaboration between a major hospital and the Legal Services Commission is helping women access vital legal advice to escape violence.
The federally funded initiative allows Lyell McEwin Hospital staff to call in a special unit of lawyers who can provide mobile legal assistance to women at the hospital and domestic violence centres.
Legal Services Commission access services manager Chris Boundy said the lawyers' mobility was crucial to the project's success.
"It is a very important initiative, a very important step, because women who are in peril are not certain where to go," Mr Boundy said.
"They're not even sure how to reach out and by having this unique partnership with the hospital it is the hospital staff who identify women who could benefit from having some legal advice and then we're able to respond and be here when we're needed.
"The important thing is we come to them when it's convenient and by being notified through health authorities we can have the mobility to ensure they don't miss the opportunity to get proper legal advice."
Mr Boundy said the lawyers in the domestic violence unit were well-qualified, empathetic and passionate about helping women get access to justice.
Northern suburbs mother Emma (not her real name) knows first hand the terror of feeling trapped in an abusive relationship.
"I was going through domestic violence at home and being that I wasn't aware of what was around to help me I was stuck in that sort of position for quite some time," she said.
Emma said legal advice helped her understand her rights and feel supported when she was confused and scared.
"Now I know where I stand, no matter what he says or does," she said.
"I know that my child will be OK, and there are courts and laws out there that will stand up for that and keep her protected, as well as me.
Dr Martin Ritossa, a medical director at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, said the hospital had a strong focus on domestic violence.
"They're often trapped, they often don't know where to go and this is a great opportunity for the health system to get involved in assisting them," Dr Ritossa said.
"The more we can collaborate the better and the more services we can provide at the same time the better."
Northern Domestic Violence Service case manager Melanie Dekorte said expert advice and support could make a huge difference to vulnerable women.
"That's vital in breaking the cycle of domestic violence and just creating that confidence they need to seek support and having that face-to-face contact is absolutely imperative, it's really important for them," Ms Dekorte said.
"They've been told during their relationships usually that they have no rights, that 'if you leave me I'll take the children and take you through [the] Family Court. I'll keep the house, you'll be homeless, I'll cut off financial ties'.
"So when you look at all the different tactics of domestic violence that are used by perpetrators it is overwhelming for a woman to even make the decision to leave that partner in the first place."
Ms Dekorte said the support was important to help women take back control of their lives.
The initiative is funded for three years under the Federal Government's Women's Safety Package and Mr Boundy hopes it can be expanded throughout South Australia.
"We're hoping that during this three years we can develop a template that will encourage the federal authorities to go on with the funding so that we can hopefully be involved in the establishment of a similar sort of arrangement in other areas of need," he said.


This article was written by Candice Prosser and has been copied from here.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

EVERY DOLLAR MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Picture


impact acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People as the First Peoples of Australia, the traditional owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia: lands and waters which have never been ceded.
​We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community and we pay our respects to their peoples, their cultures, their languages and to their elders past, present and emerging.

​
View impact's Privacy Policy here

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture


​impact is very proud to call the following organisations our key partners:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
ABN: 17 159 728 753
PO BOX 217 GLEN HUNTLY 3163

Copyright © 2020