Wendy Tuohy, Herald Sun
October 28, 2016 4:54pm
ALL Victorians taking a tertiary course should receive compulsory training on how to identify family violence to boost early detection and prevention, the Victorian Law Institute’s family violence chairwoman says.
Lawyer and family violence taskforce member Caroline Counsel said that because one in four Victorians was either a victim of family violence or a perpetrator, all professionals needed training as part of qualifying for work in any field.
Victorian Law Institute’s family violence chairwoman Caroline Counsel. Photo: Supplied
Training to recognise family violence should be included at tertiary level “across the board”, said Ms Counsel, the past president of the Law Institute of Victoria.
“Anybody at tertiary level must have compulsory training,” she said.
Ms Counsel gave evidence to the Royal Commission into Family Violence as the chairwoman of the institute’s family violence portfolio.
Though education was among 227 recommendations of the royal commission, the proposal for a compulsory element was new. If introduced, it would be a world first.
State and territory leaders have been in Brisbane for the national two-day COAG family violence summit.
Ms Counsel, who sits on the state government’s Industry Taskforce and the Family Violence Taskforce, said across-the-board education would help create a cohesive, industry-wide approach and improve prevention.
As the incidence of other crimes decreased in 2015-16, family violence incidents increased by 9.2 per cent, up from 68,135 incidents to 74,385 in the year to March 2016.
“Something we’ve been trying to hammer home to industry (is) one in four people in your workplace have been victims or perpetrators of family violence. If industry doesn’t recognise the symptomology it doesn’t recognise family violence,” said Ms Counsel.
A spokesman for Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings said: “We will deliver an industry plan to ensure Victoria’s workforce has the training and skills to keep women and children safe and hold perpetrators to account.”
Domestic Violence Resource Centre of Victoria chief executive Emily Maguire said: “It’s absolutely imperative the vast majority of tertiary training courses include a family violence element.”
