MAY 29 2011 Page 21ST

thesundaymail.com.au 21NEWS

Stretched fundslost on seminar

“Funding is incredibly stretched as far as family violence is concerned and people have spent their entire training budgets for the year on attending this event when they might have been able to go to another event and got value for money” CRISIS WORKER JANE ASHTON

“From our point the conference was well run. There were a couple of hiccups which we fi xed but no conference is without that.’’SOS MEDICAL’S TOM CALLAGCAN

Kelmeny FraserConsumer affairs

DOMESTIC violence work-ers who paid hundreds ofdollars to attend a Queens-land conference have lodgedan official complaint amidclaims they were ripped off.

The non-arrival of a key-note speaker, conference kitsconsisting of just a few piecesof paper in a bag, poor soundand visual equipment, a lackof support staff, noAustralian-based contact anda lack of quality informationon the subject were amongthe concerns.

An official complaint hasbeen lodged with the Queens-land Office of Fair Tradingabout the poor standard ofthe event.

The conference was run byTom Callagcan, the chiefexecutive of SOS MedicalTourism Services, which spec-ialises in trips to Thailand forAustralians wanting cosmeticsurgery, dental work andreconstructive surgery.

Up to 200 domestic viol-ence workers from acrossAustralia arrived on the GoldCoast for the $700-a-headevent on May 17, which hadbeen promoted by the Thai-based Global CoalitionAgainst Domestic Violence asthe nation’s biggest confer-ence on indigenous domesticviolence.

But the three-day confer-ence instead sparked a stringof complaints against SOS,whose director also chairs theGlobal Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence.

Victorian crisis workerJane Ashton lodged a com-plaint with Fair Trading andhas asked for her money back.

‘‘Throughout Australia,funding is incrediblystretched as far as familyviolence is concerned andpeople have spent their entire

training budgets for the yearon attending this event whenthey might have been able togo to another event and gotvalue for money,’’ she said.

Conference delegates weretold on the first day that thekeynote speaker had missedhis plane and would be arriv-ing later.

But the speaker denied theexplanation, telling The Sun-day Mail he had informedorganisers days before theconference he had beenforced to withdraw.

Several workers whoattended the Gold Coast con-ference have claimed SOSMedical-related productswere promoted at the event.

‘‘I thought it was outrage-ous,’’ said one speaker, whoasked not to be namedbecause of her domestic viol-ence work.

‘‘It was the organisationand quality of the conferencethat was insulting.

‘‘If it wasn’t for the qualityof the delegates and theAboriginal people from allover Australia it would havebeen a disaster.’’

But Mr Callagcan deniedthe company was promoted atthe conference.

‘‘There was nothing withSOS Medical on it, that’s forsure, but what would bewrong with that?’’ he asked.‘‘We have had more positivefeedback than anything –99.9 per cent was positive.

‘‘From our point, the con-ference was well run. Therewere a couple of hiccupswhich we fixed but no confer-ence is without that.’’

Speakers and delegateswere asked to pay registrationfees to attend plus covertravel and accommodationexpenses. A council, the Uni-versity of Queensland andseveral government-fundedservices were among organis-ations to pick up the bill.

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679different on so many levels

Churchhelp forscaredfamiliesJackie Sinnerton

CHURCHES could be thesaviour of families living withdomestic violence.

A Queensland academic be-lieves the neighbourhood par-ish needed to play a biggerrole.

‘‘It needs to be easier forfrightened families to comeforward,’’ said Dr LynneBaker, who has researchedand written CounsellingChristian Women on How toDeal with Domestic Violence.

Her comments come afterThe Sunday Mail last weekrevealed thousands ofQueensland women in high-risk domestic situations werebeing turned away from life-saving support services.

The Coroner’s office is alsoreviewing hundreds of suspic-ious deaths amid fears thedeath toll from domestic viol-ence could be far greater thanthought.

Dr Baker said selected con-gregation members could helpfrightened families with shop-ping and appointments, offersafe computer access, keepemergency escape suitcases,mind pets and offer temporaryaccommodation.

‘‘Members of the clergymust be willing to clearlyaddress issues of domesticabuse with their congregationsas well as making a commit-ment to networking withorganisations already estab-lished,’’ she said.

However, Karen Walsh, thechief executive of Micah Pro-jects, warned it was not theanswer for everyone.

‘‘Not everyone relates to afaith community and thatmakes it hard for many tocome forward,’’ she said.

‘‘In many cases a personcannot approach the churchbecause the perpetrator is amember of that church.’’

The Uniting Church andmany other denominationsalso have their own counsell-ing services.