Trauma specialist counsellors at the forefront of $18.2 million domestic violence boost in the Budget

TRAUMA specialist counsellors are at the forefront of an $18.2 million domestic violence boost in the Budget, while victims of revenge porn abuse will also receive financial relief.

Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer has stressed the importance of keeping women and children safe.

TRAUMA specialist counsellors are at the forefront of an $18.2 million domestic violence boost in the 2018-19 budget.

Victims of revenge porn abuse will also receive financial relief with more money flagged in last night’s budget to roll out a civil penalties regime.

A total of $6.7 million will go towards increased Domestic Violence Response Training (DV Alert) for community and frontline workers in 2018-19, and a further $11.5 million will be rolled out over two years to 2019-20 to enhance the capacity of support line 1800RESPECT.

The $6.7 million for extra DV Alert training will allow community and frontline workers to better identify and support women and children affected by domestic and family violence.

It will give them the tools to better get those impacted by family violence out of traumatic situations and pick up on the signs and signals of hidden abuse.

The additional support for 1800RESPECT will allow trauma specialist counsellors to respond to the growing demand for its services and enable the hiring of more staff for the service.

The eSafety commission will also receive $14.2 million over four years from 2018-19 according to the budget papers, including half a million in capital funding next financial year.

This will include $11.7 million to administer a new civil penalty regime to combat revenge porn and Australians experiencing online abuse.

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Specialist counsellors are a key component of an $18.2 million domestic violence boost in the 2018-19 budget. Picture: Getty

A total of $22 million over five years is also being flagged to address abuse of older Australians which affects up to 20 per cent of elderly women.

Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer said it was vitally important to keep women safe in their homes and online.

“There is nothing more important than keeping women safe and their children safe,” Ms O’Dwyer told News Corp.

“The government is focused on providing support to women who have been subjected to violence and who have been victimised online.”

Last year the government introduced legislation to parliament to give victims of revenge porn some tangible recourse on the abuse they experience by those who shared their images online.

The new laws will enable the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to immediately issue infringement notices of $2500 for individuals and up to $12,600 for companies.

Larger fines of up to $105,000 could be issued for individuals but would need to be pursued through the Federal Court.

Social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and others could face fines up to $525,000 for failing to remove or prevent the dissemination of revenge porn.

More Australians than ever before are experiencing cyber abuse with the non-consensual sharing of intimate images (revenge porn) a growing problem.

One in four Australians have been victims of revenge porn or cyber abuse at some point in their life.

Research revealed by News Corp last week showed 16 per cent of adults received repeated unwanted online contact last year, 15 per cent had offensive things said about them, and 10 per cent had their personal information used in a way they did not like.

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Originally published as Trauma specialist counsellors at the forefront of $18.2 million domestic violence boost in the Budget