Domestic violence support services field surge in calls for help after Kobi’s murder

Violence at home is driving huge numbers of mothers and children to seek emergency accommodation.

Up to 14 families a week are seeking emergency housing to escape violence at home, as calls for help surge in the wake of a spate of family violence murders.

South Australia’s Women’s Safety Services fielded more than 460 calls in the final 10 days of April, up from 292 in the previous nine days.

The spike came after nine-month-old Kobi Shephersdon was killed by her father in a murder-suicide at the Barossa Reservoir on April 21.

Little Kobi Shepherdson, nine months old, died when her father jumped from the Whispering Wall, Williamstown, in the Barossa. Picture SA Police

The Advertiser and Sunday Mail have this week launched the Not One More campaign to lobby for changes to better protect victims from abuse.

The state’s 24-hour government-funded Domestic Violence Crisis Line is operated by Women’s Safety Services SA. Acting chief operating officer Kathrine Cock said in one week last month staff placed 14 families, including 11 children, in emergency motel accommodation. The following week, they helped 11 families with a combined 23 children find a safe place after fleeing an abusive household.

Ms Cock said every available shelter bed across the state was usually full and most families had to spend time in motels at first.

She said public tragedies often prompted a surge in calls for help.

“When we hear about these things in the media it can take people a little while to process and think about what it might mean for their relationship,” she said.

“We might be starting to see the effects of that now.”

Similarly, the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Service received a record 75 inquiries in the two days after the deaths of Kobi and her father, Henry Shepherdson.

The service usually attracts about 10 calls a day.

It is also funded by government and run by the Legal Services Commission, whose director Gabrielle Canny said in “nearly all cases” callers reported that abusers were using technology to harass them.

“This can involve threats, tracking devices, stalking and repeated calls or texts, sometimes hundreds in a day,” Ms Canny said.

“In many of those cases, the inquiries relate to coercive-control behaviours involving ongoing abuse that might be psychological, social, financial or technology-based.”

The service helps victims apply for intervention orders, which can impose restrictions on abusers not to contact or harass them. It also helps people report breaches of those orders or change the restrictions.

“Our lawyers represent these women in court for free and that assistance is not income-tested,” Ms Canny said

The service also helps women who are fleeing domestic violence to end rental agreements. This includes situations where an abuser has deliberately damaged a rental property that was leased under the victim’s name.

If you or someone you know needs assistance:

Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au