Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Research Report 2012 | Page 3

Family Violence in the City of Whittlesea
Current Victoria Police figures place the City of Whittlesea as one of the highest Northern
Metropolitan Local Government Areas (LGAs) for reported incidents of family violence; a rate of
1,316 per 100,000 people. Reported incidents to police have increased by 35% from 2011/12 to
2013/14. Over the past 14 years, there has been an increase of 268% for the rate of family
violence in City of Whittlesea compared to 172% for Victoria.
Whittlesea is one of Victoria's most diverse areas; over a third of residents are born overseas and
more people come from non-English speaking backgrounds than Greater Melbourne (31.4%
compared to 24%). Extensive consultation with local culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
communities undertaken as part of the Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Project
scoping report (2012) confirmed the findings of international research which states that: whilst
rates of FV are not necessarily higher in CALD populations, these communities face extensive
additional barriers to accessing information, services and supports to address FV and the issues
that compound this. This adversely impacts their ability to participate, relate to and integrate with
the wider community, as well as contributing to intergenerational cycles of violence.

Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence
Project
The Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Project (WCFVP) brings together a range of
key local agencies to design, deliver and evaluate an integrated place-based model to reduce
and prevent FV in Whittlesea’s CALD communities.
The WCFVP was designed following a scoping exercise that incorporated a review of
international literature with extensive consultation with survivors of violence, community
representatives and support agencies. It works across prevention, early intervention and
response, aligning with the Victorian Framework for Primary Prevention of Violence against Women
and the recently released Second Action Plan for the National Plan to Reduce Violence against
Women and their Children.
The project aims to support CALD communities, newly arrived migrants, refugees and asylum
seekers to break the cycle of family violence and empower communities to confront and respond
to the challenges of preventing violence against women and children.
The project is managed by a steering group consisting of representatives from: