Domestic and Family Violence Counselling - Women

If you know or suspect a friend or family member is being abused, your response is very important.

Your help will be most effective when you:

focus on their safety and their children’s safety
make sure they are alone and that it’s safe for them to speak to you
listen carefully to what they have to say
let them know the violence is not their fault
respect their right to make their own decisions
don’t make negative or critical comments about the abusive person
maintain regular contact with them
encourage them to get specialist help and tell them about services available.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger call 000.

Children and young people can experience the lifelong impacts of violence in a family setting, even if they haven’t witnessed it first-hand.

Here are some ways you can support your children:

Be aware that domestic and family violence harms children too.
Educate your children that there is never any excuse for abuse and violence.
Provide reassurance that the abuse and violence is not their fault.
Tell them that they are loved.
Organise support at school by talking to a teacher, principal or guidance officer.
Encourage them to talk about their feelings.
Seek support with counselling.
Make sure they know the emergency number 000 and how to seek this help.

Find out more about domestic and family violence – children

There are things you can do to prepare for times when you and your children feel unsafe at home. It’s a good idea to talk about your plan with someone you trust to help you leave if you need to.

Decide who you will call if you feel threatened or in danger. This will probably be the police but could also be a neighbour, relative or friend.
Decide where you will go if you need a safe place. You may need to leave the house in a hurry if you think you may be hurt. If you have children, develop a safety plan for them such as working out where they can go that is safe if you are unable to get away. This could be a neighbour or someone else who lives close by.
If possible, save some money for a taxi, bus or train for emergency transportation to a safe place.
Keep extra keys to your house and car in a safe place.
Make a list of emergency phone numbers.
Consider keeping some clothing, medications, important papers, keys and money with someone you can trust.
Practice travelling to the location that you have chosen as a safe place.
Decide what arrangements you might need to make for your pets if they are at risk of being harmed.
Take steps to protect your personal information and online security.
Find out what to do if you have concerns about your safety when arriving at, being in and leaving court. If you are seeking a domestic and family violence order, we can help.

Explore our domestic and family violence counselling for women

Centacare location