BY DAKOTA TAIT
The State Government is set to spend more than $200,000 on a pair of projects, developing videos to better support victims and practitioners in the justice system in Newcastle.
The Newcastle Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service will receive $83,000 to develop a video helping victims of domestic and family violence understand how to give evidence in the court.
Attorney General Mark Speakman says it's important to have an alternative to pre-hearing clinics.
"However, some people face barriers to attending these face-to-face clinics including people of culturally and diverse backgrounds, people who live in remote Aboriginal communities and isolated regional areas, male victims and people with disabilities," he said.
"This video is another way to provide that information and support victim-survivors of domestic and family violence through what is already a traumatic, challenging process."
A youth justice project at the University of Newcastle will also receive $125,000.
Now.See.Hear is focused on helping youth justice professionals understand the trauma-related backgrounds of young people between 12 and 25 who are involved in the justice system.
"This screening tool will be developed with Aboriginal leadership and use visual and narrative methods consistent with Aboriginal ways of ‘knowing and doing’ to identify prior trauma. and improve youth justice practitioners’ capacity to respond adequately," he said.
"The project has the potential to deliver a broad impact across NSW, with training videos to be made freely available to caseworkers, detention staff, police, lawyers, and judicial officers."
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| Image credit: abc.net.au |
