Latest news with #WomensLine
Sydney Morning Herald
08-08-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Most women who phoned helpline hung up before calls were answered
Most women who called a Queensland government-funded domestic violence helpline in October last year did not get an answer, an independent review has found. Only two in five calls to DVConnect's WomensLine were answered that month before the callers hung up. But Amanda Camm, the minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, said there had been signs of improvement, including positive results from the trial of a new peak-time triage method in May and June this year. The number of calls being abandoned by women seeking help had dropped, she said, as she commended the new chief executive, Joanne Jessop, who took on the role in April this year and had a 'a tumultuous start to her tenure'. 'Every unanswered call represents a victim-survivor that wasn't getting the support that they need,' Camm told media on Friday. 'I am committed to working with DVConnect to make sure that we improve this service for victim-survivors and ensure that when someone who needs the support of the 24/7 [helpline] that their call is answered and they receive the standard of service and response that they desperately deserve.' Loading The review, conducted by consultants BDO, was commissioned by the LNP government in the months after it took office, following concerns the service was 'potentially struggling' as demand surged. Camm said the report found no issue with the level of funding being provided by government to the service, which increased as the service began to receive more calls.
The Age
08-08-2025
- Health
- The Age
Most women who phoned helpline hung up before calls were answered
Most women who called a Queensland government-funded domestic violence helpline in October last year did not get an answer, an independent review has found. Only two in five calls to DVConnect's WomensLine were answered that month before the callers hung up. But Amanda Camm, the minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, said there had been signs of improvement, including positive results from the trial of a new peak-time triage method in May and June this year. The number of calls being abandoned by women seeking help had dropped, she said, as she commended the new chief executive, Joanne Jessop, who took on the role in April this year and had a 'a tumultuous start to her tenure'. 'Every unanswered call represents a victim-survivor that wasn't getting the support that they need,' Camm told media on Friday. 'I am committed to working with DVConnect to make sure that we improve this service for victim-survivors and ensure that when someone who needs the support of the 24/7 [helpline] that their call is answered and they receive the standard of service and response that they desperately deserve.' Loading The review, conducted by consultants BDO, was commissioned by the LNP government in the months after it took office, following concerns the service was 'potentially struggling' as demand surged. Camm said the report found no issue with the level of funding being provided by government to the service, which increased as the service began to receive more calls.
Perth Now
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Appeals for help abandoned as DV calls go unanswered
Thousands of women have abandoned their calls to a domestic violence helpline after their cries for help went unanswered. A review of Queensland's domestic violence support agency DVConnect's WomensLine has revealed the service picked up just 41 per cent of calls in October 2024. Between July 2023 and March 2025, four times as many vulnerable vulnerable people abandoned their calls to the service. "This is more than just data - each of these unanswered calls or abandoned calls represents a woman at risk and a woman who is not getting help," Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Minister Amanda Camm said. The service has slowly been improving, with nearly three-quarters of calls being answered by the helpline between April and June 2025. But more than 4000 women still abandoned their cry for help during this time period, down from a high of 10,000 between October and December. "Over 4000 women abandoning calls when in crisis is still too high and only answering 73 per cent of calls is still too low," Ms Camm said. "I am committed to continue working on delivering better outcomes for vulnerable victims of domestic and family violence." The improvement in call response comes after DVConnect trialled a peak time triage method over two months this year, deploying more full-time workers to assist with the number of cries for help. It meant 93 per cent of calls were answered, Ms Camm said. The review called for greater clarity around the roles and responsibilities of DVConnect and to establish key performance indicators to continue improving its service. The allegations of the DVConnect service's failings to vulnerable women were uncovered in the review commissioned by the Liberal National government after it won the 2024 state election. Queensland has been hit hard by domestic violence with 19,658 offenders recorded in 2023-24, behind NSW's 34,055 offenders, national data shows. The scourge is further shown by the state's police force responding to up to 180,000 domestic and family violence calls every year. The state government has introduced new laws that will see 150 domestic violence offenders monitored by GPS monitoring under a trial program from July 1. The Sunshine State also was the second jurisdiction this year to pass laws that criminalise coercive control following Queensland became the second Australian jurisdiction to pass laws that criminalise coercive control following the horrific killing of Hannah Clarke and her children who died when her estranged husband set them on fire in a car in 2020. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
