An average of one person each day is contacting Whittlesea Community Connections about family violence, despite the organisation not being a specialist family violence service.
Latest data from WCC’s family violence monitor revealed that in the first six months of this year, 158 people presented to the service for family violence.
The organisation’s Whittlesea Community Legal Service received the highest number of presentations (143), followed by case workers, family violence outreach workers and the emergency relief service.
In almost half of the cases, this was the first time the person had made contact with a support agency.
An intervention order was applied for in 78 cases.
WCC chief executive Alex Haynes said the organisation started the monitor a few years ago after noticing an increase in family violence cases.
“It’s unfortunately one of these things that keeps growing and we need to keep focusing on it,” Ms Haynes said.
People living in Epping, Mill Park, Mernda and Thomastown accounted for 69 per cent of the cases, however 28 per cent of inquiries were from people living outside Whittlesea.
Ms Haynes said cases were increasing in Mernda.
“In areas like that, we are seeing it is harder for people to acknowledge that something is going wrong for them.”
