Sometimes people feel that if victims are not on street, they are not homeless but it's not like that. Sometimes they have some place to stay but it's not always safe. They experience that violence again and again just in the hope that they'll get house in future.

Family violence is very broad. It's not always physical. It can be cohesive. It can be emotionally passing threats or controlling their day-to-day activities.

I think in most of the cases which I manage on day-to-day basis, the key factor is housing. They always struggle with finding a stable housing.

I got a victim survivor, and the perpetrator has already destroyed all his identification document.

She doesn't have even a birth certificate to prove that she was born in Australia. We supported her with emergency accommodation initially for her safety reason. But she was struggling emotionally. It was affecting her mental health. She was pregnant and she had four children with her. At the end due to limited housing option, she has to go back to the PUV*.

Based on my experience maybe 60 to 70% they have to go back to the relationship where they have experienced violence due to limited housing.

Sometimes they have to choose between survival and safety and they choose survival.

If she gets a stable housing the situation will be different. She would be more stable. She can take care of her children. She can work on building her self-esteem. She can also take care of herself. We can support her with trauma counselling.

Survival or Safety