About

Why have we created Safe Haven?

Family violence is a health issue. Nurses, midwives and personal care workers care for people affected by it which can be even more challenging if they are personally impacted.

In 2018 pioneering research into the prevalence of intimate partner and family violence against Australian female health professionals was conducted by the University of Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospital.

It found that 45 per cent of respondents had experienced violence from a partner or family member during their lifetime.

Of those surveyed, 31 per cent were nurses and 36.6 per cent were midwives.

Given ANMF (Vic Branch) represented more than 87,000 nurses, midwives and personal care workers at the time, the Branch commissioned the researchers Dr Liz McLindon, Professor Kelsey Hegarty, and Dr Kristin Diemer, to conduct the two-year ‘Health, wellbeing and relationships’ project.

The aim was to survey members to investigate the extent of their experience of family violence and sexual assault, and what targeted support and advocacy the Branch could provide members with.

In 2022, the findings were published in ‘You can’t swim well if there is a weight dragging you down: Family violence against Australian nurses, midwives and carers’.

One of the four key findings revealed nearly half of women respondents and a third of men had experienced violence or abuse from a partner since the age of sixteen.

ANMF cares about the impact of violence and aggression directed to members, whether it be their working or personal life. This ground-breaking research is clear, there is no separation; our members’ work and personal lives are intertwined.

This website is intended to provide support and information for members, their colleagues and managers. It is a fulfillment of the fourth key finding where survivors requested ANMF provide an information point with resources and support for survivors.