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Helping Aboriginal children stay out of the justice system
For many 13-year-olds, life revolves around school, hanging out with friends, spending time with family and extracurricular activities like sport or learning a musical instrument. But that wasn’t the case for Sarah*, aged 13, when she was first referred to Jesuit Social Services’ Barreng Moorop program. Barreng Moorop is a small intensive case management program…
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Community legal centre cuts will hurt the most vulnerable
This National Law Week, Jesuit Social Services has joined a coalition of organisations from the legal and social services sectors to support the Law Institute of Australia’s Legal Aid Matters campaign. The campaign calls for urgent improvements to legal assistance funding at state and federal levels, including an increase of the Commonwealth’s share of legal…
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2016-17 Victorian State Budget responds to needs of a growing population
The 2016-17 Victorian State Budget has been welcomed by the community and social services sector. The Budget responds to the needs of a growing Victorian population with investment of $925 million in education infrastructure, $3.2 billion on public transport and funding for child and family services (including $133 million for Maternal and Child Health Services…
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PNG Supreme Court finding on Manus Island shaming for Australians to read
In recent days the plight of the people whom Australia has despatched to Manus Island has twice been highlighted. The Four Corners program on the death of Mr Hamid Khazaei displayed in horrifying detail the negligence, indifference, lack of urgency and priority given to following bureaucratic procedures over the value of a human life. The…
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Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody: up to us to improve outcomes for future generations
Today marks 25 years since the landmark Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody handed down its final report. The report made 339 recommendations on how the Federal Government could work to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal people in our criminal justice system. Twenty five years later it is an indictment on our nation that we…
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Family violence needs whole community response
Over the last few years Australians have become much more aware of the extent of family violence and of its effects on victims and perpetrators. The tragic death of Luke Batty and the advocacy of Rosie Batty, his mother, were catalysts for this change. But the statistics continue to horrify. Seventy-nine women were killed by…
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For children’s sake: Raise the age of criminal responsibility
Imagine going back to your 10-year-old self. You’re standing outside a cinema, watching people stream in to see a new film that you’re dying to watch. You wish you had a few dollars to buy a ticket but you spent the little pocket money you receive on a few lollies at school this week. Perhaps it…
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Not just offshore processing that is inhumane
In the past six months we have had a change in Prime Minister, but unfortunately the country’s punitive and inhumane policies surrounding people seeking asylum remain. The current system of offshore processing exposes vulnerable men, women and children to indefinite waiting times, violence and sexual assault and does not respect their fundamental right to human…
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In brief: Submission to Victoria's Gender Equality Strategy 2022
Jesuit Social Services was pleased to contribute a submission to the Victorian Government’s Gender Equality Strategy 2022. We support the proposed strategy, and additionally recommend it engages with men and boys to role model positive masculinity, in order to advance gender equality. Context In October 2021 Jesuit Social Services contributed a submission to the Victorian…