Maroondah City Council is committed to preventing all forms of violence, including family/partner violence, child abuse, parental, carer, elder and sexual abuse before it occurs, by focusing on gender equality. Council is committed to working towards a community where everyone is safe, valued and enjoys equity of opportunity and outcomes.
The link between violence, unequal relationships and gender equality
Family violence is a serious issue in our community, with research showing a strong association between sexist attitudes, unequal relationships and the perpetration of violence.
In 2019/20 Maroondah Police responded to 1,306 callouts for family violence (13.1% higher than the previous year). Children were present in 28.2% of incidents and 90.1% of incidents occurred at a residential location.
While anyone can experience family/domestic violence, it is predominantly committed by men against women, children and other vulnerable persons. Women are at least 6 times more likely than men to be the victim of physical assault by a current or former partner. Furthermore, the rates of family, partner and sexual violence in the LGBTIQA+ community is estimated to be equal to, or higher than that experienced by non-LGBTIQA+ people.
Sadly most incidents of family violence and sexual assault go unreported. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey estimated that only 36 per cent of female victims of physical assault and 19 per cent of female victims of sexual assault in Australia reported the incident to police.
Council initiatives
Council is involved in many initiatives to prevent violence against women in our community, including:
Further information
For information on these and other Maroondah City Council initiatives, contact Council's Community Planning team on 1300 88 22 33, or go to family violence and sexual assault services.