What is family and domestic violence?

Family and domestic violence is when someone you know:

A girl looking scared with her hands on her mouth

makes you feel scared or afraid

makes you feel bad about yourself

always wants to know:
- where you are
- what you are doing

A young man looking angry and yelling at another young man

calls you names

stops you from doing the things you want to do

A group of friends standing together and talking and a cross next to the image

stops you from seeing or talking to your family and friends

A woman sitting on the ground with her arms over her legs and her head down

says that you will be locked away

A man aggressively pointing and yelling at a woman

blames you for lots of things

A woman looking sad with her head in her hands

tells you that no one else will love you

A woman trying to talk toa man but he is facing the other way, not listening

tells you that no one else will help you

tells other people not to believe you

spends all your money or doesn’t let you have money

A man pointing at another man, who is getting money out of his wallet

makes you pay for everything

A man yelling with his hand raised at a woman

scares you by yelling or smashing things

A woman threatening to punch a young man

says they will hurt someone or something you care about

hurts your children or says they will

hurts your pets or says they will

A montage of 5 images. The first is a woman getting punched in the face. The second is a man kicking something. The third is a man biting someone else's hand. The fourth is a man getting pinched on the ear. The fifth is an icon of a person spitting

hurts your body by:
- punching or slapping you
- kicking you
- biting you
- pinching you
- spitting at you

Someone strangling a man with their hands on his neck

strangles you – puts their hands around your throat

A man putting his hands on a woman's shoulders. The woman is trying to push him away

makes you have sex when you don’t want to

touches your private parts when you don’t want them to

A woman with her hands on a man's shoulders

makes you touch their private parts when you do not want to

makes you use contraception when you don’t want to

stops you from using contraception when you do want to.

A man looking angry, talking to a woman who is looking down with her head in her hands

These things are called family and domestic violence.

They can also be called:

A man holding a woman's arm and pointing at her

abuse

A woman sitting down with her head in her hands while a man clenches his fist in front of her

assault.

You may need help to stop them.

When does family and domestic violence happen?

Family and domestic violence can happen in all kinds of relationships.

It could be:

A montage of 9 images. The first is a man putting his hand on a woman's head. She looks uncomfortable. The second is a man and a woman both looking unhappy. The man has his arms crossed and the woman is looking down with her hand on her head. The third is a man arguing and raising his hands at a woman. The fourth is a mother looking frustrated and pointing at her daughter. The fifth is a woman has her head in her hands while 2 men talk behind her. The sixth is a woman looking sad with her arms crossed while 3 people stand behind her. The seventh is a woman looking angry and pointing at another woman. The eighth is a carer getting frustrated and grabbing an older woman by the arm. The ninth is 3 young people together in a kitchen.

your boyfriend or girlfriend
your husband or wife, or partner
your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend
your parents
other family members – your uncle, aunty, brother, sister or cousin
a worker or carer
someone you live with.

How can family and domestic violence make you feel?

Family and domestic violence can make you:

A montage of 6 images. The first is a woman frowning with her hand on her head. The second is a woman clutching her stomach in pain. The third is an older woman crying and rubbing her eyes. The fourth is a young man looking scared. The fifth is a woman looking stressed, covering her ears and putting her hands on her head. The sixth is a young man frowning with his arms crossed.

have headaches
feel sick in the tummy
cry
shake
feel like you cannot relax
feel like something bad might happen at any time.

Your rights:

A woman looking scared with her hands on her mouth. There is a cross next to the image.

A relationship should never make you feel scared or unsafe.

A man threatening to punch another man. There is a cross next to the image.

Violence is never your fault.

You deserve to be safe.

A woman sitting on the ground with her head in her hands while a man is clenching his fist in front of her. There is a cross next to the image

You can leave a relationship that makes you feel unsafe.

Leaving an unsafe relationship can be a dangerous time.

Being pregnant or having a new baby can be a dangerous time.

It is very important to think about your safety.

It might help to talk to someone about your safety.

What can I do?

Your safety is the most important thing.

You should tell someone you trust as soon as you can.

Talk to someone who will believe you.

This can be:

A montage of 5 images. The first is 2 friends talking. The second is 2 women having a cup of tea together. The third is 2 coworkers talking. The fourth is a girl talking to a woman. The fifth is a man talking to a woman, who is writing down what he is saying.

a friend
a family member
a worker
someone from a domestic violence service
a disability advocate – someone who helps people with disabilities speak up for the things they need.

A girl raising her hand to say something

If you do not get the help you need the first time you ask, keep trying.

Talking to someone might help you to…

A montage of 4 images. The first is a man in a thinking pose with a thought bubble. The thought bubble has a question mark in it. The second is a man waiting to get on a bus. The third is a safety icon with thumbs up. The fourth is a police icon.

think about what you need to be safe
think about leaving and the safest way to do that
think about if you want to stay and the safest way to do it
understand how the law and the police might help you.

There are numbers for people you can talk to about this.

Who can help you?

An exclamation mark in a triangle and a phone icon

If you are:

in danger now, call the WA Police on 000
not in danger right now, call the WA Police on 13 1444

You can call 000 anytime.

You do not need credit on your phone to call 000.

An icon of a person trying to hurt another person and a phone icon

If you need to talk to someone about sexual assault or domestic violence, call

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

If you are a woman and want to report abuse or neglect from a family member or partner

want help to talk about what is happening and come up with a plan to be safe, call Women’s Health and Family Services on

(08) 6330 5400

If you are a man or a boy and want help or advice, call MensLine Australia on

1300 789 978

If you want phone counselling, information and advice and support in escaping situations of family and domestic violence, call

(08) 9222 2555

1800 622 258 (Freecall)

A man putting his hand on a woman's leg and a phone icon next to the image

If you want someone to talk to about sexual violence or sexual assault and come up with a plan to be safe, call the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) on

(08) 6458 1828 in an emergency

(08) 6458 1820 for general information.

A document with the heading 'You deserve to be safe'

The booklet was created with the help of WWILD women and a range of Queensland Service Providers. The 'You Deserve to be Safe' booklet can be found by following this link: http://wwild.org.au/easy-read-resources/

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