Tis the season to take care
Not everyone looks forward to Christmas. For many families the added financial pressures and anxieties over missing family members can make the holiday season a very stressful time.
According to the state coordinator of the Queensland Police Domestic and Family Violence unit, Inspector John Lewis, the Christmas New Year period is the peak time of the year for domestic violence incidents. Insp Lewis says there are a number of contributing factors including increased drinking, child custody arrangements, absence of family support and growing worries about job security. “People need to be mindful about these pressures in the lead up to Christmas and look for the early warning signs and make contact with support groups,” Insp Lewis says.
Domestic violence services also report an increase in the demand for their services over the summer holidays.
Di Mangan, manager of statewide domestic violence helpline dvconnect, says there is a definite increase in calls from October through to April. “We find the Christmas holiday season difficult as a lot of other services close down and it becomes very difficult to find emergency accommodation,” Di says. “But we are open 24 hours a day including weekends and public holidays. The moment we answer the phone the caller becomes our responsibility. We never say we can’t help.”
Once the helpline counsellors establish that the woman is safe they then move on to other issues such as accommodation, counselling and developing a safety plan. If the women and her children need to get out of the home then that becomes the focus of any action such as referral to refuges.
People affected by domestic and family violence can seek support by contacting dvconnect:
- Womensline
- 1800 811 811
- Mensline
- 1800 600 636
- Kidsline
- 1800 551 800