2025-03-05
Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) in Western Australia is at crisis levels and getting worse. Every day, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape violence, yet frontline services remain critically underfunded and unable to meet demand.
An estimated 30% of women in WA have experienced physical, sexual, or economic abuse by a partner. In 2022-23, WA Police attended nearly 60,000 call-outs related to family and domestic violence—an increase of approximately 6,000 from the previous year.
The Greens WA are committed to a full reform of the family, domestic, and sexual violence response systems in WA and to fully funding the services required to keep women and children safe.
WA Labor has recently committed to large-scale reform of the FDV response system, which is a welcome step, but greater resourcing and more tangible commitments are needed to ensure this reform is a top priority in the next term of government.
The Greens will work with Labor to ensure that the reform is implemented, along with monitoring and compliance, and make sure that life-saving services get the full funding and support they require.
While FDV is beginning to receive the urgent attention it desperately needs, sexual violence remains overlooked, with both major parties missing in action.
Every month, 600 sexual offences are recorded by police, yet research shows that 91% of victims never report. In spite of this epidemic, WA employs only 12 full-time sexual assault service workers statewide, and access to forensic and medical examinations is location-dependent.
Many areas of WA have no access to sexual assault services at all. Women and children across this state are being left without the support they need to report sexual violence or receive care.
The Greens WA will make freedom from fear for women and children a priority in the next government.
The Greens WA will:
- Fully reform the Family and Domestic Violence system as a priority, ensure ongoing monitoring and compliance measures.
- Take a collaborative approach where health, education, justice and police work constructively together to make perpetrators visible, share information and take action to protect victim survivors.
- Fully fund the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing.
- Fully fund the development of a specialist workforce, as well as crisis services, transitional and long-term housing for victim survivors, and evidence-based perpetrator interventions. This includes through Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCOs) services that are culturally safe and led by First Nations women.
- Reform sexual assault response and services across WA, including law reform, multi-agency collaboration and full funding of services to prevent and respond to sexual assaults across the state including in remote areas.
- Invest $432m over 4 years in family and domestic violence and sexual violence specialist workforces, crisis and frontline services and preventative programs.
Quotes attributable to WA Greens Legislative Council candidate, Jess Beckerling:
“The sheer scale of family, domestic, and sexual violence in WA is horrifying, yet governments continue to underfund the very services that are meant to keep women and children safe.”
“We need urgent and comprehensive reform of WA’s response to these crises, including stronger action to hold perpetrators accountable and full funding for frontline services, crisis accommodation, and long-term housing for victim survivors. The Greens will fight to ensure women and children across WA don’t have to live in fear.”
Quotes attributable to WA Greens candidate for Churchlands, Caroline McLean:
“It is completely unacceptable that WA has just 12 full-time sexual assault service workers for the entire state, leaving thousands of victim-survivors without access to critical support.”
“We cannot continue to ignore the epidemic of sexual violence in WA. The Greens will push for major reforms, including full funding for specialist services, increased workforce capacity, and justice system reforms that ensure victim-survivors are supported, not silenced.”