LATEST NEWS
Just days into 2026, Women’s Community Shelters is already contributing to national conversations, with today’s submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs Inquiry into the ‘Relationship Between Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV) Victimisation and Suicide’. Women’s Community Shelters firmly advocates for the increased awareness, ongoing investment and systemic reform to address the strong correlation and catastrophic impacts of, and between, DFSV and suicide. This issue represents one of Australia’s most urgent, under-recognised community and public health crises faced by women and children. We commend the Committee’s focus on building an evidence base that reflects the true scale of DFSV-related suicide, and developing prevention-focused and trauma-informed policy and immediate operational responses. WCS stands ready to collaborate with government, the sector and the women and children with lived experience to ensure this inquiry leads to immediate, measurable and sustainable change that will ensure every woman and child flourishes, free from abuse.
An Australian-first study has strengthened evidence that intimate partner violence can cause lasting brain injuries, leading to memory loss, learning changes and other long-term cognitive problems. The Monash University study published in the Journal of Journal of Neurotrauma found that survivors of domestic violence who experienced repeated head impacts or non-fatal strangulation were more likely to show behavioural and cognitive changes, including impaired memory. For more information, head to Guardian Australia: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/05/domestic-violence-survivors-strangulation-brain-trauma
Coercive control has many faces. In her Women's Agenda article, psychologist Simone Jeavons (who specialises in coercive control, family and domestic violence and family law court matters) unpacks the many ways coercive control can appear. This is one example from the article, shared as part of our series to help make the invisible visible. You can read the full article here: https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/what-you-should-know-about-the-many-faces-of-coercive-control/
