It is hidden behind a high fence and protected by 16 security cameras. This place of safety is where women escaping violence get the chance for a new life.
It is one of Melbourne’s most secret addresses, hidden behind a high, but nondescript fence and protected by 16 security cameras that are monitored constantly.
Dr Chelsea Tobin, seated in a Safe Steps crisis shelter unit, is determined to get Victorian women at risk of death by family violence into adequate accommodation and out of motels, where they can be left for days.The mother came to Safe Steps’ pilot “wrap around” service, Sanctuary, in late pregnancy, fleeing a man who threatened both of their lives.
The woman who left could return safely to a family member’s home, “because the person using violence has been remanded until mid-June, and it’s likely he’s going to prison once he goes to court,” says Sanctuary’s residential manager, Nicole. In February, a woman arrived after having been forced to return to her violent partner when he threatened to kill her cats; he sent her graphic photos of him holding one off the ground by its throat, causing her to go back.
In here, nothing is left to chance. In the front office, a whiteboard is crammed with detail about each resident and the status of their health, legal, income and other administrative needs, including children’s vaccinations. To reduce the need for them to go out, all their requirements are met by organisations sending services on-site.
“I don’t see this as a crisis centre, but as a secondary prevention tool, because of 200 people who have been through it , only one person has gone back to the perpetrator,” says Tobin. “Whereas with motels, there is a 50 per cent unsafe exit rate.”
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