Western Australia is the most dangerous state in Australia in which to be a woman. family and domestic violence (FDV) incidents have soared by 76 per cent since Labor took office in 2017.

Family and domestic violence includes not just physical violence, but also controlling, or threatening behaviour intended to bring about submission or fear of submission.

Coercive control involves patterns of behaviour that intimidate, isolate, and manipulate victims, stripping them of their autonomy and sense of self.

While WA Labor has talked for eight years about criminalising coercive control, there is still no timeline for legislation, no active awareness campaigns and no active training programs to teach first responders how to recognise coercive control.

Providing comprehensive and continuous training on domestic violence for police is essential for improving the law enforcement response to family and domestic violence incidents.

Unfortunately, in instances where family and domestic violence cannot be prevented or mitigated by police or public awareness, it then becomes a priority to provide support to those fleeing their homes.

With the growing number of FDV cases, victim-survivors fleeing domestic violence increasingly have nowhere to go, due to the lack of refuge availability.

Without that support, victims become vulnerable to returning to further abuse, finding themselves homeless, or resorting to unsafe living conditions.

Women and children across our state deserve better.

The WA Liberals know that support for victims and survivors is necessary, but preventing FDV and prosecuting perpetrators is the best way to tackle this crisis in the long term.

Across WA, those experiencing family and domestic violence deserve to have confidence in the resources available to them, and perpetrators need to know they will be held accountable for their criminal behaviour.

Only a WA Liberal Government will deliver support for victims and accountability to perpetrators.

The WA Liberals will take proactive steps to address the family and domestic violence crisis in our state.

Between a lack of understanding and criminalisation of coercive control, inadequate support for police officers, and shortfalls in refuge support for victims and survivors, more can and needs to be done immediately.

A WA Liberal Government will commit to criminalising coercive control in line with other jurisdictions, train all police officers to compassionately and effectively address FDV, and further support victims and survivors.

Implementing coercive control laws is essential to addressing the insidious and pervasive nature of domestic abuse.

By criminalising these actions, Western Australia will join a number of other countries and jurisdictions that have provided a legal framework that recognises the severity and complexity of psychological and emotional abuse.

These laws – working alongside training to identify and work with those facing family and domestic violence situations – will enable law enforcement and the judiciary to intervene earlier, protecting victims from an often unseen form of FDV.

By investing in thorough and ongoing domestic violence training for police officers, the criminal justice system can improve its ability to protect victims, hold perpetrators accountable, and ultimately reduce the prevalence of domestic violence in the community.

We will also commit $20 million to address the current shortfall in refuge capacity and improve support services for women and children escaping violence.

We are dedicated to improving support across the state, with a focus on high-needs areas, such as regional communities.

The commitment aims to ensure that every woman and child fleeing domestic violence has access to safe and appropriate accommodation, whether through new infrastructure or increased capacity in the current system.

Western Australians deserve a government dedicated to enhancing the immediate response to FDV incidents and fostering a long-term commitment to addressing FDV through informed, compassionate, and effective support and policing.

Only the WA Liberal Party is committed to keeping Western Australians safe.