Safe Steps has a long and proud history of advocating for social change and policy reform. Our advocacy and research are informed by the lived experiences of people impacted by family and domestic violence, our practice, data and evidence. We seek to ensure that lived experience voices are central to our work on advocacy and policy reform. Based on sound evidence and guided by the voices of those with lived experience, our goal is to influence government policy and community attitudes, position Safe Steps as a thought leader and ensure that all people have the supports and services they need to escape FDV. This includes traditionally under-served communities including members of the LGBTIQA+ community and young people.
Our advocacy and research:
- Clearly articulates the needs and experiences of individuals and families accessing our service.
- Shines a light on the complex social structures that stand in the way of victim survivor’s safety and independence.
- Is evidence-based and draws upon the best available local, national, and international research and data.
Our policy submissions
- Safe Steps National Response for Young People: Support for young people worried about family, domestic and intimate partner violence. 2025-26 federal pre-budget submission | View PDF
- Safe Steps submission to Inquiry into Family Violence Orders Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs (2024) | View PDF
- Safe Steps submission to “Strong Foundations”, the next stage of Victoria’s work to end family violence (2024) | View PDF
- Safe Steps Feedback on Consultation Draft NPEVAWC (2022) | View PDF
- Submission prepared by Safe Steps for the National Action Plan (2020) | View PDF
- Submission prepared by Safe Steps for the Joint Select Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Family Law System (January 2020) | View PDF
- Safe Steps submission to the development of the Second Action Plan to implement the National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children | View PDF
- Safe Steps submission to the consultation for the State Disability Plan and Victorian Autism Plan | View PDF
- Safe Steps Federal Pre-budget submission 2026-27 | View PDF
Our research
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- Seeking help in their own right: Young victim-survivor’s experience of crisis response for family violence in Victoria. A report commissioned by Safe Steps by leading family violence academic Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Sequre Consulting. Read more.
- The ACCESS Project: Crisis accommodation for children and young people seeking safety Partnering with Associate Professor Georgina Sutherland, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. Read more.
- Women and children without permanent residency experiencing family violence. Published by Safe Steps, November 2019. Read more.
- A Continuum of Tactics: Technology Facilitated Abuse in Family Violence Crisis Contexts. By Anastasia Powell and Che Stockley. Through content analysis of crisis accommodation case files, three case studies are presented. These cases illustrate both the complexity and variation in tactics of technology-facilitated abuse experienced by victim survivors accessing crisis accommodation. Findings identified a continuum of tactics of technology-facilitated abuse employed by persons using violence, carrying varying implications for survivor risk and ongoing safety. Read more
