Meli receives $250k emergency funding for family violence program as incidents soar in Barwon region

A Geelong domestic violence program has expanded to include sessions for younger men after an alarming spike in incidents across the region, with survivors speaking out on why early intervention is needed.
Family violence incidents have soared in the region, alarming new figures show, as survivors say early intervention is key to keeping men out of jail.
Geelong support service Meli will expand its Men’s Behaviour Change program to include specific sessions for males aged 18 to 25.
Meli’s family safety and therapeutic services director Lisa Robinson said there had been an increase in younger men in that age bracket being referred to the program.
Family violence incidents have spiked by 33 per cent across the Barwon region, which covers Greater Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Otways, from 2018 to 2023, according to Crime Statistics Agency.
There were 1721 incidents of family violence in Greater Geelong in 2022-23.
This is a spike of 10.8 per cent from 1590 incidents in the previous financial year.
Survivors of domestic violence helped to develop the new early intervention program, which includes topics relevant to younger offenders such as social media influences, online gaming, addiction and pornography.
An individual impacted by family violence told Meli: “Someone needs to talk to them early on and explain the process, law and encourage them to get help early so they don’t end up in jail.”
Another said men found it hard to reach out for help.
“There is nowhere they can go to get all their needs met,” they said.
Ms Robinson said the new curriculum was more relevant to younger males who had different challenges than older men.
The men’s partners or ex-partners are also engaged in the program, which runs for 20 weeks.
“It’s often a young man’s first experience with the judicial system and their first time in a program like ours,” Ms Robinson said.
It comes after a string of horrifying alleged attacks on women in recent months.
Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy never returned home after her run in February.
A 22-year-old man has been charged with her murder.
Clunes woman Hannah McGuire was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend in April.
Six people, including five women, were killed after Joel Cauchi allegedly went on a stabbing rampage in Sydney. Police believe Cauchi was targeting women.
Ms Robinson said the program aimed to hold men accountable for their use of violence.
“We need men to start speaking up to hold each other accountable,” she said.
“We need to continue to fund services for perpetrator work.
“Women need to stop being killed as a result of family violence.”
Geelong Community Foundation CEO Gail Rodgers said that the organisation valued its relationships with local community organisations like Meli to ensure that it was aware of growing and changing needs.
“When we reached out to Meli, through our work in preparing our inaugural, soon-to-be released ‘Vital Signs’ Report, we were very aware of the increase in family violence incidents in 22/23 in the Greater Geelong region,” said Ms Rodgers.
“When we asked Meli where the most critical gap was that needed funding, the Young Men’s Behaviour Change Program was clearly top of their list. Instead of waiting for our next grant round, we knew this was critical so tagged it as an emergency request and went about the engagement process required to make this program a reality for our community.
