Violence Prevention & Support Resources Australia
Resources for understanding, supporting and actingYou may be here because something happened to you, because you are worried about someone, or because your work brings you into contact with people experiencing violence. Start where you are.
Different people need different information
Someone experiencing violence may be looking for words to describe what is happening.
A friend or family member may want to know how to respond without making things worse.
A parent may be worried about changes in a child's behaviour.
An educator may be wondering what to do after a disclosure.
An advocate may be searching for evidence, policy information or research that supports change.
This resource centre brings those pathways together while recognising that each person may arrive with different questions, responsibilities and levels of knowledge.
Choose what you need
For Survivors
Information to help you recognise patterns of abuse, coercive control, sexual violence and other forms of harm.
Learn about common responses to trauma, barriers to leaving or disclosure, safety, support options and the importance of keeping responsibility with the person choosing to cause harm.
For Supporters
Knowing what to say when someone tells you they are experiencing violence can be difficult.
Learn how to listen without judgement, believe without interrogating, avoid victim-blaming, respect a person's choices and respond in ways that support safety and dignity.
For Parents & Carers
Children and young people may communicate fear, distress or unsafe experiences through words, behaviour or changes that are difficult to understand.
Explore information about domestic and family violence, child sexual abuse, grooming, disclosure, online safety and responding when a child tells you something concerning.
For Educators
Schools, early learning environments, universities and other educational settings can play an important role in recognising concerns and responding appropriately.
Access information about disclosures, trauma-informed responses, children's behaviour, respectful relationships, safeguarding and creating environments where young people can ask for help.
For Advocates
Effective advocacy requires more than awareness.
Explore information about victim-blaming, perpetrator accountability, justice and service systems, prevention, language, policy and the structural conditions that can increase or reduce safety.
Research Library
Evidence matters.
Explore research, reports, inquiries, statistics and policy resources relating to domestic and family violence, sexual violence, child sexual abuse, coercive control, prevention, justice and survivor safety.
Start with understanding the patterns
Violence does not always look the way people expect.
It may involve physical violence, sexual violence, threats, intimidation, stalking, financial abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, isolation, humiliation, manipulation or patterns of coercive control.
Understanding these behaviours can make it easier to recognise risk without relying on stereotypes about what a victim, survivor or perpetrator is supposed to look like.
Explore the topics
Click on a heading to find out more
Child Sexual Abuse & Grooming
Children & Young People
Coercive Control
Consent
Domestic & Family Violence
Language Matters
Legal Abuse
LGBTQIA+ Communities
Men & Boys
Myths vs Reality
Perpetrator Responsibility
Sexual Violence
Systems & Justice
Women & Girls
When someone tells you
A person's first disclosure may be carefully considered, spontaneous, partial or uncertain.
They may tell you everything. They may tell you one small part. They may minimise what happened, change the subject, withdraw what they said or return to the person causing harm.
None of these responses automatically mean that the disclosure was untrue.
A supportive response can begin with simple principles:
- listen
- believe what the person is telling you
- avoid demanding details
- do not blame them for staying, returning or maintaining contact
- ask what they need
- respect their choices wherever it is safe and possible to do so
- help them access specialist support if they want it
You do not need to become their counsellor, investigator or rescuer to be supportive.
Sometimes being believed is the first meaningful change.
The words we use can either challenge or reinforce blame
Language shapes how violence is understood.
Questions such as Why didn't they leave?, Why didn't they report it? or Why did they go back? can unintentionally place scrutiny on the person experiencing violence rather than on the behaviour of the person causing it.
A more useful question is:
What made safety, disclosure or leaving difficult?
Survivor-centred language does not remove accountability.
It puts accountability where it belongs.
Prevention is more than telling people to recognise abuse
Prevention also means examining the attitudes, behaviours, environments and systems that allow violence to be excused, minimised or hidden.
It includes teaching consent and respectful relationships, challenging harmful stereotypes, recognising coercive behaviour, improving institutional responses, supporting children to understand bodily autonomy and ensuring people who use violence are held responsible for their behaviour.
A safer community is not created by asking potential victims to become better at avoiding violence.
It is created by reducing the conditions in which violence is enabled.
Go beyond headlines and statistics
Statistics can help us understand prevalence and patterns, but numbers rarely tell the complete story.
Research can also help us understand why people do not disclose, why leaving can increase risk, how children experience domestic violence, how coercive control operates, where systems fail and what interventions may improve safety.
The Research Library brings together evidence that can support education, advocacy, policy discussions and deeper understanding.
Information is not a substitute for individual advice
The information provided through Safety From Violence Is A Right™ is intended for education, awareness and advocacy.
It is not counselling, legal advice, medical advice, crisis intervention or an individual risk assessment.
Every person's circumstances are different.
Where personal safety, legal proceedings, health, children or immediate risk are involved, specialist advice may be important.
Looking for a service?
You do not have to search through the education pages to find support.
Our Get Help page brings together national Australian services and support options relating to domestic and family violence, sexual violence, men, LGBTQIA+ people, children and young people, mental health and crisis support.
Choose the service that feels most appropriate for your situation.
If one service does not meet your needs, that does not mean you are out of options.
Are you in immediate danger?
If you or another person is in immediate danger in Australia, call 000.
If using this website could put you at risk, use the Quick Exit button to leave the site quickly.
Remember that a quick-exit function does not necessarily remove your browser history or other traces of internet activity.
Knowledge should make safety easier to find
People should not need professional knowledge to recognise that something is wrong.
They should not need to understand an entire service system before asking for help.
And they should not have to become experts in violence simply because violence entered their lives.
Safety From Violence Is A Right™ exists to make information clearer, challenge the ideas that keep violence hidden, and help people find a pathway forward.