Safe + Equal CEO Tania Farha published a piece in Council to Homeless Persons’ Parity: “Poverty and Homelessness” October 2023 Edition. The op-ed explores how financial security and safe, accessible housing contribute to a victim survivor’s journey to recovery from family violence. Financial security and safe, accessible housing are two of the most critical pillars in the journey to recovery from family violence. Without them, victim survivors often find themselves trapped, unable to safely escape their perpetrator and rebuild their lives without risking poverty and homelessness. 

Read the article here

The Safe & Together Institute is proud to release a new paper entitled: “Ensuring the Voice of the Child is Heard, and Child’s Best Interests are Considered in Domestic Abuse Cases: Safe & Together Model and the Rights of Children” by David Mandel, CEO and creator of the Safe & Together Model. Developed in response to requests for more information on Model’s relationship to the rights of children and with contributions from Safe & Together Model practitioners from around the globe, this paper represents the most up to date articulation of the Model’s relevance to the rights of children in domestic violence situations.

For more information see

To download full paper

The Sex Discrimination Act introduced a requirement for employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. As of last week, the Australian Human Rights Commission has powers to investigate and enforce penalties against businesses who do not comply. All forms of violence against women, including sexual harassment, are more likely to happen where gender inequality is normalised.

Is your business ready to join the national movement to end violence against women?   The Our Watch Institute provides training, expert consultancy and evidence-based tools to help you make meaningful change in the workplace and community. 

Go to Our Watch Institute

This 16 Days of Activism and beyond, let’s change the story and create a future where we are all safe, equal and respected.

We all deserve to be safe, equal and respected. But on average, a woman in Australia is killed by a man they know every 10 days. It doesn’t have to be this way. 

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led annually by UN Women. It runs every year from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day).  

During the 16 Days of Activism, communities around the world join the call to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. 

Read more about the campaign here

In celebration of NAIDOC week 2023, Women’s Agenda is proud to present a powerful feature that shines a light on the extraordinary First Nations women in Australia. 

Whether it’s those who have blazed a trail or those who are keeping the flame alight, the Indigenous women in this nation have shaped its history and continue to shape its future. 

Women’s Agenda have profiled six senior Aboriginal women and six younger Indigenous women to share their stories of courage, resilience and unwavering spirit. 

Access Women’s Agenda article here

Read the collection of stories here

In 2022, Safe and Equal and the Expert Advisory Panel developed a series of resources and templates to support other services and organisations in their engagement with survivor advocates.

The Family Violence Experts by Experience Framework provides principles for best practice and resources to support organisations to do this work. Please ensure you read the Framework before using the templates.

In partnership with Swinburne University, Safe+Equal are working on a project by Family Safety Victoria (FSV), in Phase 1 of its Family Violence Research Grants Program.

Safe+Equal’s project seeks to understand what works in ensuring workplace policy and practice align with Victoria’s Multi Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) framework. MARAM underpins the coordinated response to identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk across various sectors. The project will produce insights into how workplace capability in alignment and practice can be uplifted.

Safe+Equal are seeking approximately 100 practitioners from across our target sectors:

You are invited to participate in a 90-minute focus group with other practitioners from across their sector. This will take place online. Participants will engage in a roundtable discussion to discuss their own experiences and insights in relation to family violence risk assessment and management. Your participation is completely voluntary.

If you are interested in taking part, please email [email protected] and your interest will be forwarded on to the Swinburne research team. They will be in touch to arrange your involvement in the project.

The Integrated Family Violence Partnerships of the Bayside Peninsula and Southern Melbourne DFFH Areas submitted their response to the Department of Social Services’ Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program – Inclusion Round

On 3 November 2022, the Australia Government announced $100 million over 5 years (2022-23 to 2026-27) to continue the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program (Safe Places) for women and children leaving family and domestic violence (FDV). The continuation will be a second round of funding under Safe Places and will be known as the Safe Places Inclusion Round (Inclusion Round). This is a measure under the 2022-23 Women’s Safety Package and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32. The Inclusion Round will focus on improving access to appropriate emergency accommodation for:

Funding for the Inclusion Round will be delivered via an open and competitive grants process, with preference given to applications that increase accessibility by meeting the needs of women and children identified in the Inclusion Round.

Read our submission here

Safe+Equal have developed a suite of tip sheets to support candidates and employers to implement the mandatory minimum qualifications requirements.

When you’re hiring candidates who are still working towards the minimum qualifications, you need to ensure they are overseen by an experienced practitioner (e.g., an exempt practitioner) or one who meets the minimum qualifications.

This tip sheet considers a manager or supervisor’s background to assist you to determine who they can oversee.

Download Tip Sheet here

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