A report of findings and recommendations from the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence will be released on Wednesday.
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The state government received the report on Tuesday and has vowed to implement every recommendation.
Berry Street Family Violence Service senior manager Gayle Correnti said the inquiry was a watershed moment in curbing the scourge of abuse. The ripple of effects of family violence ate away at the self-worth of victims and had lifelong impacts on children exposed to it, she said.
Ms Correnti hoped the findings of the commission would redefine how the issue was dealt with. Understanding the complexities of family violence including its link with gender inequality was paramount.
"A shared meaning and understanding about what family violence is by all agencies is integral," she said. "There has to be a collective way of understanding what it does to a person who lives every day in fear. Family violence is not just physical abuse it is emotional, psychological. It's not just about securing more funding but also factors like increasing the focus on holding perpetrators more accountable for their actions."
Women's Health Grampians chief executive officer Marianne Hendron said long-term preventative work educating people on the underlying causes of family violence was needed to eradicate it. She also called for bipartisan support on every recommendation.
Rural and regional communities continued to overrepresented with Ballarat’s rate of family violence 50 per cent higher than the Victorian average. Ms Hendron said some barriers to local level change included lack of funding, isolation of victims and access to support services.
“We need to educate, raise awareness and try to change systems and structures which will lead to a widespread behavioural change,” she said.
WRISC executive officer Libby Jewson said it was integral the recommendations were only the beginning and the focus also needed to be on the response and how recommendations are executed.
“The challenge is once the recommendation do come through, we in the Central Highlands region work together to address and respond to the recommendations so it is a partnership response across the region,” she said. “It is about building on the work we have already done.”