Statement  from our CEO, Narelle Laing, on Gender-Based Violence
 
 
Ballarat & Grampians Community Legal Service (BGCLS) stands with the many women in the communities of the region we serve who experience family violence or gender-based violence. 
 
Ballarat & Grampians Community Legal Service has been providing free legal services for 35 years and our priority client groups include:

• People experiencing, or at risk of, family violence

People experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness                                                                          People residing in rural or remote areas
 
Collectively, these three priority groups reflect the incidence of gender-based violence which is widespread in the BGCLS region covering 11 Local Government Areas from Bacchus Marsh to the South Australian border. BGCLS operates on the front-line of Gender-Based Violence by providing duty lawyer services in the Specialist Family Violence Court in Ballarat, and the Magistrates’ Courts in Horsham, Ararat, St Arnaud, and Stawell. The statistics show that victims of Gender-Based Violence are overwhelmingly women, such that assisting women experiencing the effects of Gender-Based Violence is at the core of the legal and related services provided by BGCLS. We recognise, too, that the problem affects the whole of society. As such, we also pay tribute to the many first responders, community members, and service providers who are steadfast in their support of women, and their right to be safe at home and in the community. 
 
BGCLS acknowledges the scale of Gender-Based Violence occurring within western Victoria and endorses that it is a first-order priority for BGCLS. In addition to duty lawyer services, BGCLS will work constructively with the police, courts and support services to improve the safety outcomes for women and children, and to assist them in navigating the legal system in relation to family violence.
 
 

​

---