100,000 people have accessed this payment. Now it’s being made permanent

More than 100,000 people have accessed up to $5000 each in financial help to leave violent relationships over the past four years as the program becomes permanent from July.

The two-year Escaping Violence Payment trial – which was introduced in October 2021 under the Coalition – was extended by the Labor government and will be made permanent under the new Leaving Violence Program.

The two-year Escaping Violence Payment trial will be made permanent under the new Leaving Violence Program.Credit: Shutterstock

From next week, victim-survivors who are planning to leave, or have recently left, a violent intimate partner relationship will be eligible to receive up to $5000 in financial support.

As many as one in four women in Australia and one in 14 men experience violence by an intimate partner from the age of 15. A report this month by the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health revealed about one in three men had used a form of intimate partner violence as an adult.

An evaluation of the Escaping Violence Payment trial in 2023 found nine out of 10 people who received the payment were women and more than a quarter were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The average amount accessed was $4224 – including a cap of $1500 in cash and the rest in goods, services and support such as counselling and legal services.

Economic insecurity is a major barrier for many people looking to leave a violent partner, especially women.

While women’s workforce participation in Australia has grown over the years, the proportion of women employed is about six in 10 compared with nearly seven in 10 men, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says. Women are also more likely to work part-time and earn less, often putting them in a more vulnerable position.

An ABS survey in 2021-22 of 1.5 million women who had experienced violence by a previous partner showed roughly two in five had separated. Of these, one in five returned to their partners because of a lack of financial resources.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the Leaving Violence Program would make it easier for women to leave violent relationships safely, and to provide for their family.

“People often ask, ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’,” she said. “What we should ask is, ‘Where would she go?’ and ‘What help is available?’ We want women fleeing violence to know that financial support is available.”

Ged Kearney, Assistant Minister for Social Services and the Prevention of Family Violence, said the initial period when people were leaving an abusive relationship was often the most dangerous, making financial support especially important.

“No one should have to choose between fleeing violence or affording food and shelter for themselves and their children,” she said.

While the permanent plan has been welcomed by advocates, it has also been criticised for falling short of the amount of funding and support needed to combat the problem of domestic and family violence.

Federal and state governments will also contribute a further $700 million to frontline services from July 1, including funding for women’s refuges, community outreach services and men’s behaviour change programs focused on high-risk perpetrators.