Queensland's first accredited domestic and family violence training course is being regionally launched by Jan Jarratt, State Member for Whitsunday and Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for Women on Thursday 20th September at 2pm at the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, Central Queensland University, Boundary Rd, Mackay.

"This training course is unique in that it is the first training course on responding to domestic and family violence to be accredited in Queensland", said Heather Nancarrow, Director of the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research. "The ‘Course in Responding to Domestic and Family Violence' has been developed by the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research to address national domestic and family violence competencies and will be relevant to workers in a wide range of government and non-government agencies, who come into contact with women subjected to domestic and family violence".

A ‘whole of government' response to violence against women has been on the Queensland Government's agenda since the late 1980s. During this time there have been relatively ad hoc training initiatives but there has been no consistent or sustained interagency training program to address domestic violence in Queensland.

In response to this identified need, the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research successfully sought funding from the Queensland Office for Women for the first stage of the project to research and begin development of an accredited training course on domestic and family violence.

The second stage of the project was supported by funding from the Queensland Department of Communities and involved consultation and development of training resources to accompany the training course.

The course includes a focus on issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other culturally and linguistically diverse families and communities. "Workers in rural and remote communities face different challenges when responding to domestic and family violence so this course aims to equip workers in these areas with the required skills and knowledge to be able to respond more appropriately and effectively to domestic and family violence" said Ms Nancarrow.

"This course aims to enable agencies to efficiently and consistently assess and respond to needs and refer women appropriately to other services as required. This will result in a more seamless response from government and non government agencies to the range of issues that women are facing as a result of domestic and family violence", concludes Ms Nancarrow.  ENDS

For further information contact Heather Nancarrow, Director, Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, located at CQU Mackay campus, Boundary Rd, Mackay on (07) 4940 7834.