CW: Domestic Violence. In partnership with DVNSW.
It’s twenty two hundred hours on the frontlines of domestic violence and we are on the streets of Marrickville at a youth refuge run by Youth Off the Streets. Tonight we are shadowing caseworker Erin who is on-call.
Youth Off the Streets is non-denominational organisation with a focus on early intervention that empowers young people and strengthens communities. The organisation offers education, housing, and mental health services – all with a focus on young people.
As Erin shows me the pool table and basketball court, she explains “what people don’t realise about the frontlines is that 90% of the clients who come through our homelessness services are usually escaping domestic and family violence”.
In fact the child maltreatment study found that 43.8% of 16 to 24 year olds experienced domestic violence. Domestic violence was found to increase the risk of multiple types of maltreatment with 34.6% of young people aged 16 to 24 experiencing emotional abuse and 28.2% experiencing physical abuse.
Erin continues “We think an important perspective to bring to the table is that of unaccompanied young people. While the national strategy rightfully focuses on women and children escaping domestic violence – unaccompanied young people are largely overlooked. They have complex and individualised needs that differ so greatly from adults and young children and there needs to be supports in place”.
The plan Erin is talking about is the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. The Australian Government have set an ambitious goal of ending violence in a generation but the funding in the recent budget fell short of what required for this to be achieved.
This need for support Erin has identified is crucial as research from Barnardo’s shows young people exposed to domestic and family violence had a 36% greater risk of depression, a 49% greater risk of experiencing anxiety, and an almost 60% greater risk of self harm.
Erin is the 22nd frontline worker Domestic Violence NSW have featured this May as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This 24 hours on the frontlines campaign run by Domestic Violence NSW uses a series of videos to showcase the pervasiveness of domestic violence in the community and the strength of the sector working tirelessly to stop it.