Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing

23/10/2026

The WA Government is calling on everyone to 'play their part' in stopping family and domestic violence in the upcoming 16 Days in WA campaign.

Family and domestic violence, sexual assault services, and other appropriate community groups are able to apply for a grant of up to $2,000 to support an event and/or an educational activity that supports the theme of 16 Days in WA and brings awareness and action to ending gender-based violence.

Don't miss out, grant applications are open until 30 October 2026.

Read the full statement ➡ https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook%20Labor%20Government/Tenth-annual-16-Days-in-WA-campaign-to-unite-against-FDV-20261021

Applications for small community grants as part of the 16 Days in WA campaign are now open!

There are up to 10 grants available, approximately $2,000 each, for family and domestic violence, sexual assault services, or other appropriate community groups in metro and regional WA, to help raise awareness of gender-based violence.

The grants must support an event and/or education activity, align with the theme of this year's theme Stopping Family and Domestic Violence: Play your part, and take place between Wednesday 25 November and Thursday 10 December 2026.

The grants are administered by CWSW, funded by the Department of Communities.

Find more and apply here ➡ https://cwsw.org.au/our-projects/

Applications close Friday 30 October 2026.

22/10/2026

Mental Health Matters 2 is leading recruitment for a Lived Experience Expertise Group (LEEG) group as part of the Strengthening Support Pathways for Mothers Experiencing Domestic and Family Violence During Pregnancy (2026-2028) project.

The project is a partnership between the Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing, FINWA and the Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP) and aims to improve how services respond to mothers experiencing family and domestic violence during pregnancy.

If you are aged 18+, with a lived experience of family and domestic violence during pregnancy, you are warmly invited to submit an expression of interest to join the LEEG. Women of all ages, identities, cultural backgrounds and locations are welcomed.

Complete an expression of interest online ➡️ https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=tkCRC2Q19Uaab1N3W7HV0rTng3mXucBCi2OgAmNYdZJUQ1daRVBLNlVRNDNMVFFPWkdVMzFSVDE4Ny4u

For more information, contact [email protected] or join an online information session at 12:30 pm (AWST) on Wednesday 28 October or Monday 2 November. Follow this link to join via Zoom ➡️ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86206666094?pwd=UVvZDoSp2j5jjtr5DbL7u27fpu1CYe.1

21/10/2026

We welcome yesterday's announcement of reforms to WA’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984, a long-awaited step towards stronger protections from discrimination and sexual harassment.

These reforms are critical to improve protections for sexual harassment by removing unnecessary barriers for victim-survivors, particularly through the removal of the disadvantage test.

For too long, outdated laws have made it harder for people experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination to pursue justice.

These reforms recognise that Western Australians deserve a modern framework that actually works to protect those who experience sexual harassment and discrimination.

We also welcome stronger recognition of the discrimination experienced by victim-survivors of family and domestic violence, this is critical to help prevent further harm and make it safer for people to seek support and speak about the violence they are experiencing.

We acknowledge the sustained advocacy of victim-survivors, the specialist sector and advocates whose work has helped build momentum for change.

Read our media release ➡ https://cwsw.org.au/2026/10/20/media-release-equal-opportunity-bill-2026/

📸 CEO Alison Evans at The Parliament of Western Australia, with Jasmyn from Orana House.

16/10/2026

Researchers at RMIT University are currently recruiting participants for a study that explores how female sexual violence support professionals would navigate the decision to share their own experiences of sexual violence with clients.

If you are interested in taking part, or would like to find out more, reach out to Hannah McEniery via [email protected].

15/10/2026

Young Australians are being abused and sexually violated at alarming rates.

University of Sydney researchers found sexual assault and family-violence-related assault involving children increased sharply between 2014 and 2024. The rates of violence have particularly risen in the past three-to-five years.

Silence and inaction are the greatest enablers of abuse, allowing harm to continue in the shadows while compounding the trauma of those affected.

The research reveals a deeply disturbing rise in reported sexual abuse against children over the past decade. The rate of sexual assault against girls aged from birth to nine increased by 32%, while for girls aged 10 to 17 it increased by 51%. For boys aged 10 to 17, reported sexual assaults increased by 60%.

And these figures should alarm us even more because we know child sexual abuse and sexual violence remain significantly underreported. These numbers are not the full picture. They are the cases that have come to light. The reality is likely far worse.

Next year marks 10 years since both the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the emergence of the movement as a powerful catalyst for disclosure, awareness and accountability. Over that decade, countless victim-survivors have come forward, often at enormous personal cost, to tell the truth about what happened to them and call for change.

Yet governments across Australia have failed to match those disclosures with the investment and reform required. Specialist services that support children and young people affected by sexual violence have been left high and dry. Services are stretched beyond capacity, workforce shortages are widespread, waitlists continue to grow, and in some parts of Western Australia there is no specialist sexual violence response at all.

When governments fail to adequately fund and resource the services that keep children safe, support recovery and prevent further harm, we are all forced to reckon with our collective responsibility. We cannot continue to know what is happening to children and accept systems that leave them without the support and protection they need.

The ongoing invisibility of sexual violence against children is not an accident. It is a consequence of what we choose to prioritise, what we choose to fund, and what we choose to ignore.

We urgently need governments, communities and institutions to invest in the prevention of sexual violence, strengthen specialist responses for children and young people, and treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

Every child and young person deserves safety, protection and a future free from violence.

Read the research here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2855265

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/sexual-family-violence-against-children-increasing-study-sydney/107260580?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=mail

Violence and sexual violence against children have increased sharply across Australia, research by the University of Sydney finds.

14/10/2026

Join Zonta House Refuge Association Inc, in partnership with Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing, WorkforceFDV and the Department of Communities for an exclusive evening of networking, conversation and thought leadership in a Fireside Conversation with Dr Allan Wade and Dr Shelly Dean, internationally recognised leaders in response-based practice.

Facilitated by Zonta House's Anna Scott, the conversation will draw on the principles of response-based practice and its application across community services, government, health, justice and related sectors.

The evening includes canapes, refreshments, audience Q&A and networking opportunities, providing a unique opportunity for the sector engage with Dr Wade, Dr Dean, leaders and peers from across the sector.

This is an after hours, intimate evening with limited tickets available.

Don't miss out, register now ➡️ https://events.humanitix.com/dignity-fireside-conversation

If you're haven't registered for the full day Dignity in Practice symposium on 27 October, tickets are selling fast.

Read more and register here ➡️ https://zontahouse.org.au/dignity2026/

14/10/2026

Applications for small community grants as part of the 16 Days in WA campaign are now open!

There are up to 10 grants available, approximately $2,000 each, for family and domestic violence, sexual assault services, or other appropriate community groups in metro and regional WA, to help raise awareness of gender-based violence.

The grants must support an event and/or education activity, align with the theme of this year's theme Stopping Family and Domestic Violence: Play your part, and take place between Wednesday 25 November and Thursday 10 December 2026.

The grants are administered by CWSW, funded by the Department of Communities.

Find more and apply here ➡ https://cwsw.org.au/our-projects/

Applications close Friday 30 October 2026.

12/10/2026

We believe in change.

We believe all women and children in have the right to live free from fear, violence, discrimination and inequity; and to be healthy and able to thrive.

Join us at the 36th Annual March Against Domestic and Family Violence in the Perth C*D, on Wednesday 25 November.

Together we will honour victims and survivors and show our support to their families and to those who continue to live in fear.

Aligning with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, 25 November - 10 December, the event will bring together specialist services, government representatives, and community.

We believe in change. You are invited to join us.

Read more and register ➡️ https://events.humanitix.com/36th-march-against-domestic-and-family-violence

08/10/2026

The Train the Trainer program is designed for practice leaders, supervisors and senior staff who will champion the Code of Practice within their organisations.

The next two-day professional development workshop is 5-6 November.

Register now ➡️ https://events.humanitix.com/code-of-practice-train-the-trainer-program

Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing is continuing to roll out a series of training to support the implementation of the new Code of Practice for Specialist Family and Domestic Violence Services.

Throughout 2026 family and domestic violence practitioners and leaders will have access to:

🔘 Practitioner Live Online Training
🔘 Community of Practice Sessions
🔘 Train the Trainer Program

The next training session will be a Code of Practice Community of Practice Session this Friday 24 April.

🚨Find out more and register here ➡ https://cwsw.org.au/code-of-practice/whats-coming-up/

07/10/2026

The rate of syphilis has tripled in Australia over the last 10 years, and people experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence often experience increased risk of STIs and additional barriers to care.

This webinar, a partnership between CWSW and ASHM, is for both clinical and non-clinical staff working in the women's health, sexual assault and family and domestic violence sectors, to help understand risk factors, how to identify symptoms, referral pathways, and how to initiate sexual health conversations across a range of service settings.

Practitioners will develop skills to help support people through a trauma-informed and culturally responsive lens.

Register here ➡️ https://ashm.org.au/education/lunch-learn-supporting-sexual-health-in-dfsv-and-womens-health-services/