This service is trauma-informed and delivered within a healing framework, prioritising victim safety and working to reduce perpetrator use of violence and abusive behaviour.

Ultimately, the program’s goal is to achieve the best outcomes for families by keeping families safe. Best outcomes can mean many things – from working with offenders to proactively change entrenched behaviours, to supporting clients to access and understand protection orders, court support, counselling, case management, information or referrals. The issue of family violence is often ingrained within families across many generations, and this is where the early intervention piece is critical to the long-term solution. This program is unique in that it deals with both perpetrators and victims to attempt to break the cycle of family violence.

At the core of this service, is education. From YML’s experience working with domestic and family violence victims, there is a misconception that a protection order is ‘only a piece of paper’. At the same time, perpetrators sometimes don’t understand the conditions of their court order to avoid violating the order. The Townsville Family Violence Support Service works closely with victims and perpetrators to understand court orders. At the end of the 2019-20 financial year, the service had commenced early trials of a 12-week Men’s Behaviour Change Program led by an Indigenous Elder.

To respect Indigenous culture, the service is staffed by a part-time manager and two case managers.

The service also employs a counsellor to provide emotional support and guidance for those experiencing family violence.