Family and Sexual Violence

If you or someone you know is experiencing family or sexual violence and need urgent assistance phone police on Triple Zero (000).

To report a non-urgent incident of family or sexual violence, call the Tasmania Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or attend your local police station to make a report. People with hearing impairments can call TTY 106.
You may also call the Family Violence Counselling Support Service on 1800 608 122 (if you do not wish to report the matter to police in the first instance) for advice, support and counselling.
If you require further support and assistance visit Safe from Violence.

Support Services

The Family Violence Counselling Service (FVCSS) offers professional specialised services to those affected by family and sexual violence. FVCSS works with a range of services across government and the community sector. Contact can be made by calling 1800 608 122 between 9am – midnight weekdays and 4pm – midnight weekends and public holidays. Further information can be found at Family Violence Counselling Service (FVCSS) .

Engender Equality also offers a therapeutic service to anyone in Tasmania who is affected by family violence. Engender Equality has services in Hobart, Launceston and North West Tasmania and contact details can be located at Engender Equality.

Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) provides a free and confidential support service for southern Tasmanian people of all ages who have been affected by any form of sexual violence. In the north, north-east and north- west of Tasmania, Laurel House Sexual Assault Support also provides free and confidential support for people affected by Sexual Violence.

Other service providers in Tasmania include SafeChoices which provides practical support, advice and referral to support services for those people experiencing family and sexual violence. Further information for this program can be found at SafeChoices. Relationships Australia (Tasmania) also provides relationship support services. They are a community-based, not for profit Australian organisation with services with the aim to support all people to achieve positive and respectful relationships.

On a national level there is a 24 hours, 7 days a week, confidential family and sexual violence information, counselling and support service available through 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

What is Family Violence

Family violence means any of the following types of conduct committed by a person, directly or indirectly, against that person’s spouse or partner (this also includes ex-spouse or ex-partner):

Assault, including sexual assault
Threats, coercion, intimidation or verbal abuse
Abduction
Stalking
Attempting or threatening any of the above
Economic abuse
Emotional abuse or intimidation
Breaching an existing order, and
Any damage caused by person to any property owned by a spouse or partner or affected child

What is Sexual Violence

The World Health Organisation defines sexual violence as:

“any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting.”

Sexual violence includes a wide range of unwanted, non-consensual, traumatic and harmful sexual behaviours, including:

sexual harassment;
technology-facilitated abuse;
unwanted kissing;
sexual touching;
coercion;
sexual assault including rape; and
child sexual abuse.

Tasmania Police Response to Family and Sexual Violence committed by police officers

>>NEW! Family and Sexual Violence Involving Police Officers Policy
Find out more about Tasmania Police’s pro-intervention response in relation to family and sexual violence involving police members.

If you wish to report an incidence of family or and sexual violence involving a police officer, and you do not feel comfortable making a report via the Police Assistance Line or at a local police station, you can make a report through Professional Standards on (03) 6173 2158 or complete a Statement of Complaint and email it to professional.standards@police.tas.gov.au

If you are a partner of a police officer who is committing family or sexual violence, or a police officer who is a victim of family or sexual violence, assistance outside of Tasmania Police is available.

On a national level there is a 24 hours, 7 days a week, confidential family and sexual violence information, counselling and support service available through 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Information on the response to family and sexual violence incidents involving police can be found in the Tasmania Police Manual, available on the Routine Disclosure page of this website at: https://www.police.tas.gov.au/information-disclosure/routine-information-disclosures/

Family Violence Units (FVU)

Police officers throughout the State have received specialist family and sexual violence training to provide an enhanced service to victims of family and sexual violence.

In addition, each of the three police geographical districts has a dedicated Family Violence Unit. Members of these teams are able to provide a range of services to support victims in crisis situations and improve their safety. Family Violence Units were moved under the command of Detective Inspectors in charge of Criminal Investigation Units in the three geographical commands in March 2017 in order to reinforce the whole of government criminal justice response to family violence.

Safe at Home

Safe at Home is an integrated whole-of-government criminal justice response and intervention system to family and sexual violence that aims to:

Improve the safety and security for adult and child victims of family and sexual violence in the short and long term;
Ensure that offenders are held accountable for family and sexual violence as a public crime and change their offending behaviour;
Reduce the incidence and severity of family and sexual violence in the longer term; and
Minimise the negative impacts of contact with the criminal justice system on adult and child victims.

The initiative is intended to achieve a reduction in the level of family and sexual violence in the medium to long term and, in the shorter term, improve safety for adult and child victims as well as changing the offending behaviour of those responsible for the violence.

The Safe at Home program is overarched by the Family Violence Act 2004 (the Act). The paramount considerations in the administration of the Act are the safety, psychological wellbeing and interests of people affected by family and sexual violence.

Safe at Home is founded on the principle of ‘primacy of safety of the victim’ and police provide a pro-intervention response. A major focus of the Safe at Home initiative is to support adult and child victims to enable them to remain in or quickly return to their own home in safety wherever possible.

Under this program, police have expanded responsibility and legislative powers for the provision of victim safety and management of risk and safety issues for people affected by family and sexual violence.

Further information is available on the Safe at Home website at https://www.safeathome.tas.gov.au/

Safe Homes, Families, Communities

Living free from violence is everyone’s right. Taking action to prevent it is everyone’s responsibility.

Safe Homes, Families, Communities is the Tasmanian Government’s coordinated, whole-of-government action plan to respond to family and sexual violence.

Further information is available on the Safe Homes, Safe Families website at www.dpac.tas.gov.au/safehomessafefamilies