Grants boost support for Queensland’s domestic and sexual violence services

The Palaszczuk Government has given Queensland’s domestic, family and sexual violence service providers a $2.5M boost to assist the sector in responding to the impacts of COVID-19.

Attorney-General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman today announced the successful recipients of an almost $2.5 million grants program aimed at helping domestic, family and sexual violence service providers respond to the complexities and challenges resulting from the pandemic. 

“Over the past 12 months many in our community have stayed home to protect themselves from COVID-19, yet we know that for so many across our state home is not the safe space it should be,” Minister Fentiman said.

“Since the initial impacts of COVID-19 on our economy and way of life, we have also seen an unprecedented demand on our domestic and family violence (DFV) services.

“Our fantastic DFV services stepped up during COVID-19 to meet the increasing need for victim support.

“That is why these grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 have been made available to support one-off initiatives to respond to the impacts of the pandemic.

“The response from the sector has been overwhelmingly positive, with the quantity and quality of applications so high that additional funding was allocated on top of the initial $2 million advertised, and more initiatives have been able to be supported.”

Minister Fentiman said the 23 projects which had been successful in receiving funding would target a range of specific groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the LGBTIQ+ community, people with a disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

“Projects to benefit communities right across the state will receive funding, including a partnership between Griffith University’s MATE Bystander Program and Torres Strait Island Social Justice Interagency Service to deliver training to help locals respond to violence in island communities, and the delivery of extra counselling services at the Centre Against Sexual Violence in the Redlands in south-east Queensland,” she said.

“Funding has also been allocated to the North Queensland Combined Women's Services Inc. in Aitkenvale to develop services to assist and inform people who have experienced, or are at risk of, sexual violence in the North Queensland region.

“The grants will fund direct, frontline services that provide prevention, early intervention, crisis and post crisis support, and develop resources to assist clients and use in community education programs about sexual violence.”

These funds are from a partnership between the State and Federal Government’s to provide assistance with domestic and family violence services during COVID, with the State Government calling on the Federal Government to continue this funding, as service providers are still faced with the same pressures.

For more information and to view a full list of projects being delivered through the Responding to COVID-19 in the sexual, domestic and family violence sectors grants program visit: https://www.justice.qld.gov.au/about-us/services/women-violence-prevention/violence-prevention/responding-covid-19-sexual-domestic-family-violence-grants

ENDS

Media contact:                       Inga Williams              0439 949 719