SYDNEY, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Australia's New South Wales (NSW) on Monday announced an investment of 230 million Australian dollars (about 152.1 million U.S. dollars) to prevent domestic violence and support victims.
The announcement came out within days after state ministers convened for a special cabinet meeting last week, where they reaffirmed the commitment to "taking urgent action as well as looking at long-term reform."
According to the state government, the fund will be provided over four years as part of an emergency package to enhance support for domestic, family and sexual violence victim-survivors as well as expand programs to curb violence against women and children.
The investment will focus on key sectors, including crisis response, justice system improvement for victims, early intervention, primary prevention, workforce enhancement and research.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that about one in four women and one in eight men in the country have experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15.
"Too many lives have been lost and too many families have been broken because of domestic and family violence. It is a blight in our communities, and it is a problem that deserves our government's concerted attention and response," said NSW Premier Chris Minns.
"This funding announcement is an important step to doing better, to recognizing that domestic violence supports need to be applied not just from a crisis response perspective, but with an eye to disrupting the cycle of domestic and family violence early and permanently," he added. ■
