Ku-ring-gai Council Launches $100,000 Grant Program to Combat Rising Domestic Violence

Over the past ten years, the number of recorded domestic violence-related incidents in the Ku-ring-gai area has risen by 85%, according to the Council. In response, they are offering community organisations $100,000 to combat the issue. 

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The Council’s funding coincides with their Prevention of Violence Against Women Action Plan, formally endorsed in their August meeting. Special grants will provide necessary funds to community groups to develop activities or programs targeted at reducing occurrences and impacts of family and domestic violence, as well as promote empowerment and resilience for those already affected.

“We know that family and domestic violence is a significant and growing societal problem. This new and one-off funding program will play an important role in developing local actions to fight this problem,” said Ku-ring-gai Mayor Christine Kay.

Applications for the grants close on November 8, with up to $20,000 available per successful program. For more information on how to apply, visit www.krg.nsw.gov.au

Council will be hosting a free training workshop on how to identify and respond to family and domestic violence, in partnership with Lifeline, at Gordon Library on October 30. Further activities, including a public awareness walk with stalls and an art exhibition, are being hosted. 

This coincides with the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which runs between 25 November and 10 December 2024. See the council’s website for registration details. 

Council’s announcements come only a few short months after the new Coercive Control Laws came into play on July 1st this year. Coercive control, when a person uses abusive behaviours towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them, is now a criminal offence in NSW. 

(These laws only apply to matters occurring on or after July 1st; previous instances of coercive control cannot be prosecuted) 

While the law currently only applies to former or current intimate relationships, coercive control can appear in other types of relationships. The State Government reported that The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team found that in 97% of intimate partner domestic violence homicide cases, the victim had experienced coercive and controlling behaviours before being killed.

The NSW Government will review the legislation from 2026 to consider whether it should be expanded to criminalise coercive control in other types of relationships.

On July 26, a man in NSW’s Riverina region became the first person to be charged under the new Coercive Control Laws, less than a month after they were implemented, the ABC reported. 

By early October, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb revealed that NSW Police were already investigating nearly 80 cases relating to coercive control. 

Earlier this year, NSW Police commenced a four-day operation targeting domestic violence offenders, charging over 550 individuals throughout the state. Operation Amarok VI, saw 1070 charges laid, with 226 of those arrested wanted by police for serious domestic violence offences, reported SBS News. 

In a statement made in May 2024, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley, said; “Last year, almost 150,000 calls for assistance were made to the NSWPF for domestic violence-related matters.”

In cases of coercive control, it can be difficult for individuals to recognise the warning signs. According to the State Government, coercive control can include any ongoing and repeated pattern of behaviour which hurts, scares or isolates another person to control them. 

Some signs include: 

• Emotional abuse

• Shaming, degrading or humiliating

• Violence and intimidation

• Making threats

• Social isolation

• Limiting freedom or controlling choices

• Financial abuse

• Harassing, monitoring and stalking

• Child abuse

• Sexual and reproductive abuse

• Animal abuse 

• Systems Abuse

Visit the NSW Government’s website to read more about identifying the signs of coercive control as well as stories from victim-survivors of domestic abuse. 

If you have found the content of this article distressing or you are currently experiencing domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 656 463). Lifeline is also available on 13 11 14.

If you are in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000)