Family violence in Mildura surges to decade high forcing victims to flee town

A family violence court order is breached every eight hours in Mildura, with innocent victims forced out of their homes in fear of seeing their abusive ex-partners.

Kim O’Reilly says it is “terrifying” for victims of family violence in small towns Picture: Alex Coppel.

A family violence order is breached every eight hours in Mildura, forcing “terrified” victims out of town in fear their abusive ex-partners will turn up at their door.

The latest data released by the Crime Statistics Agency revealed breaches in Mildura rose to a 10-year high in the year to December 2024 amid a shocking statewide rise in family violence offending.

Across Victoria, family violence incidents increased to an all-time high, with the state recording more than 104,700 incidents — an 11 per cent spike from the year before.

Last year a family violence court order was breached every 11 minutes across the state, with 15 of the top 16 areas for the highest rates being in regional Victoria.

Mildura sat at number four.

Kim O’Reilly, formerly of Mildura, was one of the many women who fled her home after a vicious assault at the hands of her ex-partner which nearly killed her and landed him in jail for four years before he was released.

Kim O’Reilly says victims are unfairly forced out of their homes and communities to protect themselves against violent ex-partners Picture: Alex Coppel.

Ms O’Reilly said she had not been back to Mildura since and her story was far too common among women in regional communities who were forced to leave their homes behind.

“It’s terrifying to know someone can be right down the driveway essentially,” she said.

“I’m afraid of seeing him down the road or running into him in the supermarket if I went back to Mildura.

“Why aren’t we making the perpetrator get up and move, why is it always the women and children that have to get up and relocate and change their whole world because of someone else’s actions?”

Another woman who fled Mildura after being domestically abused — and did not wish to be named — said a lack of education and the “normalisation” of family violence in the town created a cycle of offenders.

“My situation would never have happened if it wasn’t for the person’s family normalising (FV) from a young age,” the survivor said.

“One time he choked me and I told his mother and she said ‘what did you do to make him angry.

“Parents (who are trapped in a cycle of FV) need to be educated. I don’t think the education (about FV) is at an acceptable level in Mildura so people aren’t aware of it as much.

“Parents need to be taught how to properly teach their kids how to break the cycle of family violence.”

In the year to December 2024 recorded family incidents rose by 10 per cent in Mildura, with a family related crime occurring once every four hours in the town.

Ms O’Reilly said a toxic culture of people “not calling out” domestic and family violence plagued country towns.

“In small towns no one calls it out. If someone is well known in the community it is a hush-hush situation,” she said.

“There’s a lot of victim blaming as well. It’s who you know instead of what you know.”

It was one of the reasons why she established “It’s NEVER ok” — a campaign which invited sporting clubs and communities to take a stand against family violence.

She said despite “a lot of pushback” initially from an “old school mentality” at clubs, many communities had since come along in “leaps and bounds” since their involvement.

“There’s still a long way to go,” she said.

“We’re making headway but it’s a very slow burn and it’s unfortunately at the cost of women’s lives.

“We’re looking at schools this year which is a great way to get into that education space. That relationship with teenagers in schools is a really important way to set them up for successful relationships into adulthood.”

Kim O'Reilly from It's NEVER Ok speaking at an event in Ararat. Picture: Facebook

Later this year Ms O’Reilly will ride from Melbourne to Mildura and then to Parliament House in Canberra to raise awareness for the campaign.

The City of Casey recorded the most breach offences last year followed by Geelong, Shepparton and Frankston.

Police arrested a family violence offender every 17 minutes last year.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force “worked tirelessly to enforce orders and make sure perpetrators were accountable”.

“Victoria Police take breaches of family violence intervention orders extremely seriously because victims have a right to safety,” she said.

“We know that the vast majority of breaches are committed using technology, with offenders using text messages or social media, to target victims.

“Our police are committed to holding perpetrators to account at every opportunity, evidenced by our pro arrest pro charge model that sees charge rates increase year upon year.”

Support is available 24/7 through Safe Steps by calling 1800 015 188 or emailing [e-mail]