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2.3 Victim survivors are heard and in control

Indicator: Increase in self-referrals to family violence support services

A key principle of the family violence service system is that there is no wrong door for seeking support or advice. Referrals to family violence services or to The Orange Door can be made from police, a non-family violence service provider or a person experiencing violence and their family and friends. Self-referrals are one important way victim survivors can access support and get help when and where they need it, giving people choice in how they engage with the family violence service system.

Measure: Number and proportion of self-referrals to The Orange Door network by victim survivors

The number of self-referrals to The Orange Door network by victim survivors increased over the last four years. This is partly due to the progressive expansion of The Orange Door network over that period.

The increase also suggests that more people are proactively seeking help due to more visible and accessible entry points brought about by The Orange Door network.

There was a small drop in self-referrals during 2020–21, most likely due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced opportunities for victim survivors to self-refer.

Figure 1: Self-referrals to The Orange Door, Victoria, 2018 to 2022

Source: The Orange Door Client Relationship Management system

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Measure: Number and proportion of victim survivors who self-refer to specialist family violence services directly

The number of clients who self-referred to specialist family violence services decreased over the three years from 2019–20 to 2021–22. This was due to the transfer of the intake function to The Orange Door as well as the progressive expansion of The Orange Door across Victoria.

This means more victim survivors are now self-referring to The Orange Door, rather than directly to specialist family violence services. This mirrors the general shift in clients from other referral pathways1 being referred to The Orange Door network instead of directly to specialist services.

Figure 2: Direct self-referrals to specialist family violence services, Victoria, 2015 to 2022

Source: Homelessness Data Collection

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Footnotes

1 Other referral pathways include Victoria Police, Safe Steps and professional services.

Updated