Ballarat men's behavioural change program axed as 'shocked' support service staff urge premier to act

Child and Family Services Ballarat members Karina Joy, left, and Wendy Sturgess.  (ABC Ballarat: Lexie Jeuniewic )

Dismayed Ballarat family service providers want Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to urgently intervene after a “shocking” decision by the state’s Magistrates’ Court to axe a crucial men’s behavioural-change program.

The news comes as the city reels from the alleged murders of three women in recent months and the country grapples with an epidemic of gender-based violence that resulted in the federal government yesterday committing $1 billion to try to find a solution.

Child and Family Services Ballarat (Cafs), which supports clients with court-mandated referrals as well as men seeking help to change their behaviour on a voluntary basis, was informed of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria’s decision in recent days.

From June 30, Cafs will stop taking new court-mandated referrals after the court chose not to extend the program.

“To cease this program is shocking, and it’s shocking for the Ballarat community. We cannot believe it,” Cafs CEO Wendy Sturgess said.

Ms Sturgess urged Premier Allan to provide additional funding to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria to allow the program to continue.

“Please support us to do this really important work,” she said.

She said the decision couldn’t come at a worse time for the community, which continues to grapple with the deaths of three women allegedly at the hands of men in 2024.

While the program will continue to see voluntary clients, Ms Sturgess said the loss of court-mandated model would have ripple effects.

“We were told there is some potential for a future program, but what does this mean and say to the people of the Central Highlands?” she said.

“Where does it leave women, children, and safety, to known perpetrators of violence?”

Ms Sturgess’s comments were echoed by Phillip Ripper, CEO of No To Violence, which helps men who are concerned about their behaviour and want to change it.

He also called on Ms Allan and Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes to “urgently intervene” and make additional funding available to the court.

“The [Magistrates Court] itself argues funding from the Victorian government for court services is not sufficient to cover the complex requirements of ensuring high-risk men are supported to change their violent behaviour to keep the women and children in their families safe,” said Mr Ripper.

Premier Jacinta Allan this morning said the Attorney-General and representatives from the Magistrates’ Court will meet to discuss ways to ensure the continued provision of men’s behavioural change programs.

“I want to make it very clear at the outset that this hasn’t come about as a result of any funding changes,” the premier said.

“The funding that has been provided to the Magistrates’ Court for these men’s behavioural change programs remains.

Ms Allan said the Magistrates’ Court was looking at changing program providers to improve access for Indigenous and LGBTIQ+ communities.

“What has changed is decisions taken by the Magistrates’ Court to look at changing program providers to strengthen the programs that are addressing men’s behavioural change.”

‘Difficult decision’

In a statement, the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria said there had been no funding reduction to its Court Mandated Counselling Order Program (CMOP), but that the present model was no longer sufficient for the community.

“Current eligibility requirements and rigid program structure means only around 4 per cent of all respondents to final Family Violence Intervention Orders receive a counselling order. Less than half of that number complete it.”

The court said it was working with providers on transition arrangements and “actively pursuing alternative, more sustainable and inclusive programs”.

’40 per cent increase’

Karina Joy is an advanced practitioner of family violence prevention and a facilitator of Cafs’ men’s behaviour change program, which has been taking court-mandated referrals for the past four years.

Ms Joy said the 20-week program, which is broken down into two-hour sessions each week, had seen a 40 per cent increase in all referrals to the program in the past month.

“The overall aim is harm reduction,” she said.

“We’re trying to skill these men up, so their partners, their kids, are safe.

“And so that they’re safe as well, and so that they are living a life they are comfortable with and proud of.”

Ms Joy said further work was needed in the gendered-violence prevention space.

“We need to do something before men end up being referred to us. And that’s on everyone in our community,” she said.

New prevention program in western Victoria

Ms Joy’s call is partially being answered by a fledgling program by Women’s Health Grampians (WHG), dubbed the Men’s Initiative.

The program is based on the Working Together with Men model developed by Shelley Hewson-Munro at RMIT University, which describes itself as engaging men “at the grassroots in efforts to prevent violence against women.”

The Men’s Initiative runs across three, three-hour sessions with five to 10 participants and is spearheaded by Luke Baker, who is WHG’s Gender Equality Advisor – Masculinities.

“We flesh out with men what the drivers of violence are, what the solutions are,” he said.

“Then at the end we ask the men to engage in a community activity of their choosing that addresses those drivers of violence in their own community,” Mr Baker said.

He said the initiative was now looking to expand into other parts of Victoria, including Ballarat.

“Our work seeks to prevent the harm before it’s occurred.”