Engender Equality’s Therapeutic Services are:
- Free and confidential
- For people who have, or are, experiencing intimate partner violence
- Available face-to-face, by phone and/or online using Zoom
- 1 hour appointments (first appointments may go for longer)
- Mid to long term engagements over a two-year period. Some people will only need a few sessions, some people will participate in many more
- For all people over the age of 15 inclusive of gender, sexual orientation, ability, marital or socioeconomic status, cultural, religious, or ethnic background
- For people who identify as LGBTIQA+ who experience family violence perpetrated by intimate partners, including those in non-traditional relationship structures.
Our Practitioners are:
- Based in Hobart, Launceston and North West Tasmania
- Able to use an interpreter if you need one
- Committed to protecting your privacy and offering secure, confidential services – you can read our Privacy Policy here
- Able to provide trauma-informed family violence counselling, including risk assessment and safety planning to support you with an experience of intimate partner violence
- Are qualified, specialised and supported with regular clinical supervision and ongoing professional development.
What is Intimate Partner Violence?
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is violence or abuse used by a current or former intimate partner. An intimate partner refers to someone you have dated (once off, casually or seriously), a partner you have or have not lived with, or someone you have married or been in a long-term relationship with. Relationships of a transactional nature, such as through sex work, are also considered an intimate partner relationship.
Intimate partner violence most frequently looks like violence and abuse used by men towards women.
In a relationship where there is IPV, one person uses power and control over another. This is achieved and maintained through patterns of behaviours that are violent, threatening, coercive or controlling. IPV may cause:
- Psychological
- Emotional
- Sexual
- Spiritual
- Physical, and/or
- Financial harm
IPV may include behaviours that are physically and non-physically violent and abusive. IPV includes experiences of coercive control. Common behaviours or tactics used by abusive partners are often driven by possessiveness and obsession. They may look like:
- Constant monitoring and regulation of everyday activities such as phone calls, social interactions and clothing
- Constant put downs and criticisms
- Limiting access to household or joint finances
- Criticism of parenting skills
- Disrespectful behaviour in front of children and others
- Threatening the safety of children and pets
- Physical violence such as hitting, slapping, pushing, restraining, punching or breaking personal belongings
- Sexual abuse, such as making their partner engage in sexual acts when they don’t want to, or using cultural or religious beliefs to justify forcing them to have sex
- Blaming their abusive behaviour on their partner
- Surveillance using smartphones, social media and other technology
- Continuous abuse post-separation, including abuse facilitated by shared care of children.
What is Family Violence?
Family violence is a broad term often used to describe violence and abuse that occurs in family relationships. Family relationships can be relationships between parents, siblings, grandparents and other kinship relationships. Relationships between carers, foster carers and co-residents in residential domestic settings (for example, in shared housing or supported accommodation) can also be considered family relationships.
Violence and abuse in intimate partner relationships is often referred to as family violence as well as intimate partner violence.
In Tasmania, the Family Violence Act 2004 defines family violence as violent and abusive conduct committed by a person against their spouse or partner.
Family violence is the term preferred by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because it acknowledges that violence can occur across extended family networks.
Engender Equality specialises in providing trauma-informed therapeutic services to people in Tasmania who have experienced intimate partner violence. We are currently unable to support people who have, or are, experiencing family violence occurring in other kinds of family relationships. If you are seeking support for experiences of family violence that are not intimate partner violence, you can contact the following 24/7 services:
How to access Engender’s Therapeutic Services
Please note that due to current demand for our service exceeding our capacity, there is a wait time for accessing therapeutic services that can be up to 12 months depending on your location. Please request wait time information from our Intake Practitioner when you first enquire.
If you would like to access our services, you can call us on (03) 6278 9090. If we are not available, please leave a confidential message and we will return your call as soon as we can. We operate during normal business hours.
Or you can contact us (in confidence) here:
If you are making an appointment on behalf of another person please complete our Referral Form and return it to us here.
Telehealth Services
If you are unable to access face-to-face sessions, we can provide counselling services via phone, or online using Zoom.
- Phone Counselling
For phone counselling, you will need to be in an area with reasonable phone reception or have access to a landline. - Online Video Counselling
For video counselling, you will need an internet connection and a secure, private computer, mobile phone or tablet that runs Zoom. To make sure your phone and/or online services are right for you, read our Terms and Conditions.