Wagga Wagga City Council’s Community Engagement Office Alex Osgood is inviting frontline workers and volunteers to take part in a three part community training programs covering domestic violence and coercive control. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council.
Three education sessions detailing and defining domestic violence will soon be hosted by Wagga Wagga City Council.
Taking place in November, the sessions will train frontline workers and volunteers in organisations where tackling domestic and family violence is not a primary function. Forms of abuse detailed in each session will include coercive control, online and tech control and harassment, and financial and economic control.
This opportunity is funded by the council and its commitment to the No More Silence About Domestic and Family Violence initiative.
Community development coordinator Alex Osgood said service providers had identified the need for more accessible training options to support victim-survivors, particularly with the recent introduction of new coercive control laws as of 1 July.
“Domestic and family violence is more than just physical abuse and can happen in any home,” she said.
“The introduction of coercive control laws in NSW criminalises coercive control in both current and former intimate partner relationships.
“It is essential for local support services and community members to understand how these laws operate in practice.”
According to the 2021-22 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey, about one in four women (27 per cent) and one in eight men (12 per cent) in Australia experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15.
“It is well known among social services that domestic and family violence goes largely under-reported,” Ms Osgood said.
“A barrier to reporting is identifying what an abusive relationship actually looks like, what evidence a person needs to prove a case, and what they can do to protect themselves in the future.”
The council is collaborating with Paula Smith, at Upstream Educators, who has an impressive record of developing evidence-based training in this space while also being an active domestic violence investigator.
“Paula has a wealth of knowledge and is a captivating facilitator,” Ms Osgood said.
“She will cover three key topics informed by the Wagga Domestic Violence Liaison Committee: coercive control, online and tech-facilitated abuse, and financial and economic abuse.
“This training will provide participants with a deep understanding of how to recognise different types of abuse and respond appropriately.”
The low-cost and fully catered sessions in the Wagga Wagga Civic Centre are open to local frontline workers and volunteers in organisations where tackling domestic and family violence is not a core responsibility.
Session 1: Coercive Control – Wednesday, 27 November | 3 pm – 6 pm
Session 2: Online & Tech-Facilitated Abuse – Thursday, 28 November | 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Session 3: Financial & Economic Abuse + Family Law – Thursday, 28 November | 1:30 pm – 4 pm.
Each session costs $10 plus booking fees. Places for each session can be booked here.
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