Forum ponders family violence

By Emma Sun
POLICE officers from Greater Dandenong and the southern metropolitan region attended the annual Family Violence Forum last Thursday to discuss the issues of domestic violence.
The forum, held in Sandhurst, featured a mock scenario and facilitated discussions with a panel of representatives from organisations involved in the process.
More than 100 people from various organisations attended the event, including court staff, police officers, people from community legal services, community corrections and the Department of Justice.
The theme for this year is, “how do we currently hold men to account for their use of family violence and how can we do it better?”
Event organiser Sergeant Craig Millar, a family violence advisor for the Southern Metropolitan Region, said the forum was well attended.
“It was a great opportunity for all the stakeholders in relation to family violence to come together to work to the best possible outcome for the victims and perpetrators of family violence,” he said.
“The hypothetical highlighted some gaps in the system, and we worked together to work through those gaps and close them.
“The feedback was very positive and it was beneficial for all involved.”