Today, May 1^st, is day one of Domestic Violence Prevention month.

Sadly, domestic violence remains a widespread issue in Australia, with the latest data unveiling one in four Australian women and one in 14 Australian men have experienced violence from an intimate partner.

Recently, violence against women by men has been the focus of rallies and demands for government to act.

One in five adults have experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member – one in four are women and one in 14 are men.

Abuse can come in many forms, including coercive control which can involve any behaviour which scares, hurts, isolates, humiliates, harasses, monitors, takes away another person's freedom or unreasonably controls their day-to-day activities.

The advent of smartphones has only exacerbated this type of abuse.

Mobile phones have plenty of positives, Australians are becoming more reliant on their smartphones to navigate their way through life, from juggling work to accessing vital services like online banking.

Yet for domestic violence victims, mobile phones are often the first thing to be destroyed, taken, or monitored, with one in two adults having experienced at least one technology-facilitated abuse behaviour at some point in their life. In fact, over half of domestic violence practitioners observe perpetrators checking victims phones and text messages without consent.

Verbal threats to women through phone calls saw a 35.8% increase, with practitioners reporting it going from 32.9% in 2015 to 44.7% in 2020. The use of text messages, emails, or instant messages to threaten women surged by 74.4%, rising from 32.9% in 2015 to 57.4%in 2020.

The intersection of technology and domestic violence continues to worsen, with GPS tracking apps such as “Find My” frequently preloaded on to smartphones, and practitioners reporting women feeling obligated to turn them on by the perpetrator.

This is where company DVSmartphone comes in, using mobile devices to assist in safety, rather than be a detriment to it.

During the pandemic, Ashton Wood from the Sunshine Coast was clearing out old items from his house, intending to donate old phones to those who need them most. When lockdown happened, he had nowhere to take them. He rang an old friend, a senior police sergeant, asking if he could take them anywhere and what she needed in that moment was mobile phones for victims of domestic violence.

According to DV Smartphones, 62% of Australians choose to keep one or more mobile phones after updating them.

The number of mobile phones in storage has grown over the past 15 years in Australia to a point where there are almost as many phones in storage as there are people in Australia - around 22.3 million mobile phones being stored around the country.

DV Safe Phone is calling on Australians to dig through their draws and donate their old phone at one of over 600 locations across Australia.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, (1-31 May), serves as a timely reminder of the extreme and often hidden circumstances people experiencing domestic violence live through, yet by donating an old and unwanted phone, Australians can make a direct and real difference to ensure no call for help goes unheard.

DV Safe Phone collects, repurposes and gifts mobile phones to victims of domestic violence (DV) through registered charities, safe houses and authorities serving this vulnerable community.

These amazing organisations have people who are trained and resourced to assist victims with their individual needs and circumstances. This includes the provision of a 'safe plan' or 'escape plan' - alongside DV Safe Phone's gifted mobile phones.

If you are experiencing violence or abuse, and are in need of a mobile phone to access emergency or crisis support services, you can search for an authorised agency via the H.A.L.T Map link.

To find a DV Safe Phone near you, simply navigate the map below by zooming into your location. Local locations include Barnardo’s in Nyngan and The Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service.

For more information about DV Smartphones and links to helplines, follow this link.

Other support is available through the NSW Domestic Violence Helpline.