Remote witness rooms welcome but more aid needed to solve ‘incredibly worrying’ DV assistance increase

New Lismore and Byron courtroom facilities will assist victim-survivors tell their story, but is the funding enough to curb a lockdown-fuelled increase in those seeking domestic violence support?

Lismore Court House will receive a welcome new remote witness room.

Added protections in the form of new Northern Rivers remote witness rooms will hopefully allow more victims of domestic violence to come forward but further help is still needed, according to advocacy experts.

New remote witness rooms for both Lismore and Byron Bay courthouses were announced by MP Ben Franklin last week as part of a $9 million Commonwealth COVID-19 stimulus funding package.

The funding announcement comes on the back of concerning new August 10 reports from DVNSW reveal 73 per cent of domestic violence services faced a significant increase in demand since the beginning of the 2021 Greater Sydney Covid-19 lockdown.

Eighty-four per cent of those assistance services also said there was an increase in the complexity of the situations for the clients referred, and of the 33 services operating waitlist almost half noted an increase in the length.

DVNSW CEO Delia Donovan said the figures were “incredibly worrying”.

“Funding granted during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak was welcomed but has now ceased for many services, and as a result they’ve faced the loss of staff and resources,” she said.

“The lack of long-term funding makes the increase in demand difficult, especially in regional and rural areas.

‘We need additional funding for services so they can support clients under the challenging circumstances of this pandemic.”

The peak body was calling for an emergency COVID-19 support package to enable specialist domestic and family violence services to meet increased demand as well as priority vaccinations for specialist workers and their clients.

Byron Bay Court House will receive a new remote witness room.

She noted measures like the new remote witness rooms were a welcome investment to help those facing violent and threatening situations.

“Women are often extremely daunted by the prospect of having to give evidence in court, particularly cross examination, and providing a safe space will make them feel more comfortable and less anxious,” she said.

“ Perpetrators sometimes pack the courtroom with their family and friends to further intimate victims, so remote witness rooms provide significant protection from that manipulation.

“Broadly, this method supports women to be able to give their evidence in a way that is more trauma informed, which will lead to better court outcomes.

“It’s even more important to have this option in regional courts, as the populations are often small and there is less anonymity – so remote witness rooms can also add protection from that.”

Ms Donovan hoped the move would align regional courts with their metro counterparts and encourage a “safe space” for victim-survivors.

“Everyone deserves the chance for justice, and with spaces like this, more victim-survivors may feel more comfortable coming forward and pursuing action against their perpetrators,” she said.

The upgrades include a new remote witness room, state-of-the-art audiovisual link equipment, acoustic panelling, new furniture and secure access doors for Lismore

Similarly, Byron Bay Courthouse will receive a new remote witness room, state-of-the-art audiovisual link equipment and an upgraded safe room.

The announcement will line up with the instigation of November 2020 legislation which bans self-represented defendants from personally cross examining complainants in domestic violence criminal proceedings and related apprehended domestic violence order proceedings.

As part of the same reforms, complainants in these proceedings also now have a prima facie entitlement to give evidence remotely via AVL and in a closed court.

The contracts for Lismore and Byron Bay courthouses have been awarded and start dates are currently being finalised with the stimulus projects to be completed by the end of the year.