Toowoomba DV advocates fight for safe housing and regional support services

A rising tide of domestic violence victims are trapped in abusive homes as they wait for safe housing to open their doors - the reality is, without help, they may not make it out.

Toowoomba advocates have described the reality of the domesitc violence crisis in our region. Photo: iStock

Toowoomba advocates have called for urgent government support as a rising number of domestic violence victims are being forced to stay with their abusers with no safe escape.

Advocates from Toowoomba’s domestic and family violence prevention services have described the reality of Toowoomba’s DV crisis, calling on politicians to provide urgent funding for services and speedy housing solutions.

“The reasons why women aren’t or can’t leave (domestic violence) is because there aren’t enough resources,” Protea Place chief executive Amanda Dalton said.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest Personal Safety Survey, more than one in four women and one in five adults have experienced domestic violence since the age of 15.

ABS data also showed the number of domestic and family violence homicide victims rose from 106 in 2021 to 157 in 2023.

Ms Dalton said refuge housing for victim-survivors was almost always at capacity and those accepted were not allowed to stay within their home region, instead forced to move as far away as Cairns or Roma.

“There’s so few spots (in refuges) and they come up so rarely,” she said.

She added many were choosing to stay in unsafe situations as the reality of moving away from their jobs, homes and families was too severe.

“(In refuges) they’re in a location they don’t know, they’ve got no finances, they’ve got no way of helping themselves and they’re essentially then stranded in a location that is foreign to them,” she said.

Protea Place chief executive Amanda Dalton. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Ms Dalton stressed alternative safe accommodation, like rental homes, were also extremely limited in the region, with many victim-survivors forced to stay long term in motels with little support.

“People can’t start to recover and deal with getting their life back on track if they don’t have a secure roof over their head beyond a motel room with a microwave and you’re trying to manage kids and get them to school,” she said.

Ms Dalton said Protea Place, and its support services, faced a “dire” situation if politicians did not commit further funding this year.

“We know that domestic and family violence is massive, so the investment into the support around it and the prevention around it needs to be even more massive,” she said.

“In Covid, we saw them be able to move mountains and take over entire hotels and unit complexes and put people in them; we saw them do it, we know it’s possible.

“Talking about us nicely is one thing, getting funding for us is what we need.

“We don’t want their pats on the back and the ‘aren’t we greats’ and the ‘look at the amazing work they’re doing for the community’, we want tangible support through funding.”

Domestic Violence Action Centre executive manager Deb Murdoch said the organisation was under immense strain to meet the needs of regional and rural domestic and family violence victim-survivors.

“My staff, we are absolutely at capacity to the hilt,” she said.

“Most of the time we could do with almost double the resources and still not keep up with the demand.”

Ms Murdoch echoed Ms Dalton’s sentiments regarding the region’s housing and accommodation crisis, adding for rural victim-survivors, the barriers to leave abuse are sometimes far greater.

“We definitely had a rising number of people sharing with us that they’ve decided to stay because they just have nowhere to go,” Ms Murdoch said.

“For them, when they come from smaller communities, a refuge in the middle of the city or in Brisbane feels incredibly intimidating – it is another layer for them to have to deal with emotionally.”

She added rural victim-survivors also faced unique issues that required differentiated support and funding.

Domestic Violence Action Centre (DVAC). Picture: Kevin Farmer

“Sometimes it’s assumed that the same (solutions) would be applied as would be in a city centre but it is a very different response,” she said.

“I know that there’s a lot of work and a lot of energy going into this issue.

“But I also think that the issue is complex and it is a lot broader than I suppose a standard response can provide.

“We need extra resources for us to cater more effectively for those rural and regional areas.”

Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm will attend a candlelight vigil for Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month at Gips Restaurant in Toowoomba tonight.

Ahead of her attendance, Ms Camm said she would be partnering with frontline services “to ensure they are well-resourced to support victims of domestic, family and sexual violence”.

“No one should be exposed to domestic and family violence,” Ms Camm said.

“We are developing a 10-year Domestic and Family Violence Reform Strategy that will take a whole-of-system approach to strengthen prevention, early intervention and engagement with persons using violence to keep victims safe and hold perpetrators to account.

“In 2024-25, $252.8m is being provided to the domestic, family and sexual violence support sector, encompassing approximately 120 organisations across Queensland.

“This financial year the department will allocate a total of $29.5m per annum in the South West region, which includes Toowoomba, for Women’s Safety and Violence Prevention services.”