DV SAFE SPACE
Everyday places.
Extra reassurance if you need it.
DV Safe Spaces are here to help you go about your everyday life with a little more confidence.
You can choose to come here as part of your day - shopping, attending an appointment, having a coffee, or running errands - knowing that if you begin to feel unsure or unsafe, you can say something and be met with understanding and pointed in the right direction for support.
DV Safe Spaces are not crisis centres or domestic and family violence support services. They are everyday community places where you can feel understood and be gently guided toward the right supports if you need them, while continuing to go about your daily life.
If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For 24-hour specialist domestic and family violence support, contact DVConnect on 1800 811 811.
This interactive map shows the locations of DV Safe Spaces across our community, so you can move through your everyday life knowing there are places nearby that can offer understanding and reassurance if you need it.
DV Safe Space Interactive Map
Navigate the map using your cursor (desktop) and two fingers (mobile) and click on a marker to find details of your nearest location. You’ll see the name, street address, opening hours and a link to their website.
How DV Safe Space works
DV Safe Space is a community-led initiative of The Survivor Service that activates local businesses and organisations to be part of a visible, informed community response to domestic and family violence. It strengthens the social fabric by building shared understanding, confidence and practical skills across everyday community settings.
Participating businesses and organisations complete onboarding training and display a DV Safe Space sticker in their shopfronts and community locations. This signals that the space is domestic violence informed — a place where someone will be met with understanding and, if needed, gently guided toward appropriate support services.
DV Safe Space is not a crisis centre or specialist domestic and family violence service. It embeds informed reassurance into everyday places — cafés, shops, libraries, community hubs — so support is woven into the spaces people already move through.
Victim-survivors can view DV Safe Space locations on the interactive map and choose to plan their day around places that offer that added reassurance. Whether getting a coffee, attending an appointment, shopping or running errands, they can go about their everyday life knowing there are community spaces nearby where they will be met with understanding and gently pointed in the right direction if needed.
-
Display of the DV Safe Space sticker in shopfronts and community locations
Interactive map and how people use it to choose places as part of their day
-
It is for all victim-survivors who want reassurance woven into the places they already visit - cafés, shops, appointments and community spaces - so they can continue living their everyday lives with dignity and confidence.
It is also for community members and businesses who believe everyday places can play a role in strengthening safety, connection and understanding.
-
DV Safe Space matters because it strengthens confidence and dignity in everyday life, embedding reassurance into community spaces that quietly allow victim-survivors to go about their everyday lives after domestic and family violence with greater confidence and a community understanding
-
Encouraging communities to stand together against domestic and family violence
Embedding awareness and understanding into everyday places
Growing shared knowledge and practical capability across local businesses and organisations
Creating a visible network of community spaces committed to safety, dignity and respect
-
Becoming a DV Safe Space is more than displaying a sticker — it involves businesses and organisations completing onboarding and capability-building to develop a shared community understanding of domestic and family violence and the role everyday community spaces can play.
Participating businesses and organisations strengthen their understanding of domestic and family violence, learn how to respond appropriately if someone discloses, and understand how the DV Safe Space initiative operates, with clear boundaries about their role within the community.
Onboarding sessions are delivered regularly and are available online, through in-person community sessions, and directly to larger workplaces where whole businesses or organisations choose to participate.
Once onboarding is complete, businesses and organisations receive their DV Safe Space onboarding pack, including the sticker for display, and their details are listed on the interactive community map.
-
Onboarding materials
DV Safe Space window sticker
Intersectional, business-sized information cards with support contacts
Inclusion on the interactive map
-
Suitability conversations with interested businesses
Ensuring spaces are inclusive and appropriate
Alternative ways to be involved (awareness posters, promotion)
-
DV Safe Space is intentionally designed as a free community initiative. Removing cost as a barrier ensures businesses and organisations of all sizes can participate, strengthening the reach and visibility of informed community spaces.
The initiative is made possible through partnerships, collaboration and the support of organisations that invest in community safety and domestic and family violence awareness. These contributions fund onboarding delivery, resources, stickers and the ongoing maintenance of the interactive map — keeping accessibility at the centre of the model.
If your business, organisation or philanthropic network would like to invest in strengthening community understanding and expanding the visible network of DV Safe Spaces, we welcome a conversation about partnership and sponsorship opportunities.
Register Interest
Businesses and organisations interested in becoming a DV Safe Space are invited to register their interest to learn more about the initiative, discuss suitability and explore next steps. You can do this by completing the Register Interest form on our website, and a member of The Survivor Service team will be in touch as soon as possible, usually within two weeks, to continue the conversation.
Interested in collaborating to deliver DV Safe Spaces in your community?
If you’re interested in exploring how DV Safe Space could be delivered in your community, we’d welcome a conversation. Please reach out via the Contact Us form on our website, and a member of The Survivor Service team will be in touch to discuss partnership opportunities and next steps.
