This service is funded by the Department of Communities (Q'ld Govt) and auspiced by the Rockhampton Women's Health Centre.
Domestic & family violence hurts
The service:
- Promotes the safety of individuals and families first.
- Provides assistance to women and men who experience domestic/family violence or need information about it.
- Operates from an office at 225 Bolsover Street in Rockhampton and provides a support service at Rockhampton and Yeppoon Magistrates Courts.
- Provides outreach services by appointment at Rockhampton, Mt Morgan and Yeppoon.
It's about power & control
How we can help:
- Assist with new domestic violence order applications & variations.
- Give information about domestic and family violence and the Domestic & Family Violence Protection Act 1989.
- Explain court processes and attend court with people experiencing violence.
- Liaise with court staff and Police Prosecutors.
- Provide a room at court where people can wait in privacy and safety.
- Provide on-going emotional support.
- Offer information about other services.
- Provide advocacy and referrals.
The Domestic Violence Protection Act (1989) can assist in protecting people in a range of relationships from experiencing further abuse and violence. It was amended in 2003 to include four categories of relationships:
- Spousal
- Intimate personal
- Family
- Informal care
The relationships apply for same or opposite sex relationships. Children under the age of 18 cannot be the aggrieved or respondent in family or informal care relationships where it involves a parent or relative - this is a child protection matter. www.communities.qld.gov.au/childprotection
A Domestic Violence Protection Order is a civil matter and becomes a criminal offence when a final order is breached/broken.
Most people just want it to STOP
What is domestic violence?
Domestic and Family violence is about one person using abusive tactics to control another. Abusive tactics can be many things including actually doing or threatening to do any of the following:
- Willful injury to the other person - punching, slapping, hitting, strangling, kicking, pushing, shoving.
- Willful damage to the other person's property - hurting pets, breaking furniture, punching holes in the wall, breaking belongings.
- Intimidation or harassment of the other person - repeated verbal or emotional abuse, name calling, insults, humiliation; repeatedly telephoning, stalking/following; or in the case of a carer, threatening to withdraw care from the person who is disabled.
- Indecent behaviour towards the other person includes, but is not only, unwanted sexual behaviour.
Some of these behaviours eg hitting, strangling, destroying property and stalking constitute criminal offences and action could be taken under the Criminal Code in addition to an application for a Protection Order.
(from Queensland Centre for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence)
