A series of guides have been developed to help hospitals across Victoria further strengthen their responses to family violence.
Developed by the Royal Women’s Hospital (the Women’s) and Bendigo Health, in partnership with Our Watch, the guides have been funded by the Victorian Government and are available free to download.
The Chief Executive of the Women’s, Dr Sue Matthews, said the Women’s was very proud to be a part of the Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence (SHRFV) project since April 2014.
"This work is incredibly important and the project has had considerable impact, over a short period of time," Dr Matthews said.
"We know that for many women, a health care professional can often be the first person they will talk to. Given this knowledge, we – the health sector – must do all we can to better equip our staff to identify and respond to women who disclose they are experiencing violence.
"Because as a sector, if we don’t get better at this, the social costs, the health costs and the economic costs remain significant with long-term negative impacts on our communities.
"The reality is that despite increased media and public attention, there is still a large number of hidden experiences of women and children living with violence."
Related information
More information and links to the SHRFV series of guides: Strengthening Hospital Responses to Family Violence.
