About Us
who we are
Family and intimate partner violence is a gendered issue. The crimes that occur are predominantly perpetrated by men.
Men’s use of violence perpetuates inequality, systemic oppression and is a violation of the human rights of women, children and marginalised families.
this can and must change.
our work
Working to provide a range of services in the areas of response and recovery to victim survivors of family violence. We are a not-for-profit organisation, primarily funded by the State Government of Victoria.
We invest in prevention and education in order to stop family violence occurring in the first place. This work is made possible largely through partnerships, community and individual giving, grants and philanthropic support.
our theory of change
In order to achieve our aspirational vision, we developed a theory of change, to inform who and how we will work over the next 7 to 10 years and to track our progress towards the change we wish to see.
our Strategic plan
Our strategic ambition is to be a leader in specialist intersectional family violence prevention, early intervention, response and recovery.
In the next strategy period, we will strengthen our efforts to create positive change across the continuum of family violence; focus on diverse cohorts, including children and young people; and work with others to strengthen the Victorian community’s capacity to prevent, recognise and respond to family violence.
our values
Intersectional Feminism
We understand that family violence and the abuse of power is multi-dimensional and that the impact of family violence is compounded by intersecting forms of oppression and inequality including gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation. These intersections result in overlapping forms of discrimination, more severe forms of violence and barriers to accessing support.
We recognise the gender drivers of violence against women and that women and children are disproportionately affected by family partner violence, which is why we prioritise them in the work that we do.
Courage
We are courageous in our pursuit of preventing family violence, leading and influencing change within the family violence and community services sectors and the broader community that is focused on delivering positive outcomes for victim survivors. We do not shy away from challenging the status quo and doing things differently.
Transparency and Accountability
We do the right things in the right way. We act with integrity, are transparent in our conduct and hold ourselves to account for delivering high quality services and programs that have a positive and lasting impact on individuals, the community and service systems.
Collaboration
We maximise the collective impact of our work through respectful, genuine and meaningful collaboration, strong partnerships and effective integration both internally and externally.
committed to reconciliation
In 2023 we launched our first Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. We commit to the vision, principles and strategic priorities of Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families, the key Aboriginal-led Victorian agreement that commits Aboriginal communities, services and government to work together to ensure Aboriginal people can live free from family violence.
VALUING LIVED EXPERIENCE
We have developed a Family Violence Survivor Partnership Framework to guide us in our work. We are committed to ensuring Family Violence Survivors’ views, perspectives and ideas are elevated, heard and central to the decisions that directly impact them. We commit to purposeful partnering, intentional power sharing and curious, open listening as the cornerstone of authentic engagement and ethical partnerships founded on universal human rights.
2023-24 Annual Report
This year marks the 30th anniversary year of our organisation. Formerly EDVOS, we formed in 1994 as an amalgamation of two smaller organisations being, Outer East Domestic Violence Service and Inner East Women’s Service, operating from one small residential home in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Now, thirty years later we are enormously proud of our organisation and the incredible work of our staff. Day in and day out we work to achieve our vision of a community free from family violence, where everyone is safe. However the rates of family violence, family violence related homicide and broader gender-based abuse, and inequity continues at unacceptable and galling rates.