Auckland Women's Refuge

19/08/2026

Happy Tongan Language Week
Theme: "Ko 'etau hiva, ko e fe'unu mahu'inga ia ki he mo'ui 'a e Tonga" (Our music is a vital strand of our Tongan culture)
‘Ofa atu

25/07/2026

As a mental health therapist, I see the horrible damage from the abuser using the family court system to continue to harm their abused partner and their children. Proposed state laws that assume all divorces should end in 50/50 custody for the children are apt to make this situation even worse. My hope is that survivors will work together to lobby their state legislatures and squash these potential and harmful bills.

25/07/2026

25/07/2026

The findings from BOCSAR’s Crime Victimisation Survey contribute to our understanding of broader trends. However, domestic and family violence is a complex and deeply under-reported crime, and survey findings should be considered alongside the experiences of specialist frontline domestic and family violence services.

A reduction in self-reported victimisation should not be interpreted as evidence that domestic and family violence has reduced across the community. Many victim-survivors never disclose their experiences in surveys or to police because of fear of retaliation, concerns they won’t be believed, shame, coercive control, previous negative experiences with the justice system, racism, and for some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the very real fear of child removal.

As the peak body representing more than 200 specialist domestic and family violence organisations across NSW, our members are seeing a very different picture. Some services are operating at up to nine times their funded capacity, waitlists regularly exceed three months, and in our 2025-member survey, 94% of responding services reported demand had increased compared with the previous year.

Those frontline experiences cannot be overlooked when assessing whether domestic and family violence is increasing, decreasing or remaining stable. Demand for specialist services remains overwhelming, and for victim-survivors unable to access support when they need it, the consequences can be life-threatening.

Rather than viewing these findings as a sign the problem has been solved, they reinforce the need for continued investment in prevention, early intervention and specialist domestic and family violence services. Improvements in one measure should never become a reason for complacency while frontline services continue to face record levels of demand.

Every dataset tells part of the story. To understand the true scale of domestic and family violence in NSW, we must consider research alongside the lived reality of victim-survivors and the evidence from the specialist services supporting them every day – who generally remain absent from all sources of data used to compile these findings.

Whole-of-government response starts with collecting whole-of-government data.

25/07/2026

25/07/2026

Police decided not to prosecute your sexual violence case?
You may have the right to ask for that decision to be reviewed.

Many survivors are never told this.

Under Crown Law's Guidelines for Prosecuting Sexual Violence, if Police or a Crown Solicitor decides not to prosecute a complaint of sexual violence, you should be told:

💜why the decision was made
💜that you can request a review of the decision
💜how long you have to ask for a review.

Who reviews the decision?

The review should be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision.

If the decision was made by Police, the review should be undertaken by a more senior Police officer.
If the decision was made by a Crown Solicitor, it should be reviewed by a senior prosecutor.

What should happen next?
You should also be told:

💜how the review process works
💜how long the review is expected to take
💜what will happen once the review is complete.

A review is an opportunity for an independent reconsideration of the decision. It does not guarantee that charges will be laid, but it does provide an important safeguard within the justice process.

If you've experienced sexual violence, you don't have to navigate the justice system alone.

HELP's specialist Court Support Advocates can provide information, practical support and advocacy throughout the justice process.

📞 0800 623 1700

This information is based on Crown Law's Guidelines for Prosecuting Sexual Violence and is intended as general information only. The timeframe for requesting a review varies depending on the circumstances of each case.

25/07/2026

A judge ordered a repeat family violence offender to submit to GPS tracking on his release from prison after hearing "terror" in the voice of his victim.

The location-finding ankle bracelet is intended to help probation officers keep Frank James Walker, 44, out of Dunedin, where his victim lives.