Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic)
Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) is the peak body for women and children’s family violence services in Victoria. DV Vic’s mission is to lead the Victorian community in building safer lives for women and children experiencing or at risk of violence.
Family violence is a major health risk to the Victorian community. Intimate partner violence is responsible for more ill-health and premature death in Victorian women under the age of 45 than any other of the well-known preventable risk factors, including high blood pressure, obesity and smoking ( VicHealth Preventing Violence Before It Occurs 2004).
Violence against women costs the Australian economy approximately 13.6 billion per year, and the Victorian economy 136 million. The costs to Australian business is estimated at a minimum of $500 million per year (The National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, 2009).
Victoria Police respond to approximately 1000 family violence incidents per week (Victoria Police 2012) These statistics are consistently increasing, for example in 2012 there was a 23 per cent increase in reports to police since the previous year.