Telstra Payphone Initiative for Domestic and Family Violence
Telstra has introduced initiatives for safe and secure communications for anyone experiencing domestic and family violence.
In times of crises, domestic and family violence incident numbers rise, including over the past 18 months with the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. Most of this violence against women occurs in the home.
Domestic and family violence (D&FV) can be physical, financial, emotional or psychological. Victim-survivors of domestic and family violence can feel trapped inside their own home. And in today’s connected world, many abusers are misusing technology to make it even harder for people to escape or get help.
Telstra have a goal to provide access to safe and secure communications for anyone experiencing D&FV. They have set up several initiatives to help, as well as worked with the Telco Together Foundation to create a united framework that will help all telco service providers better support victim-survivors of D&FV.
D&FV Telstra Initiatives:
Free Payphones
Perpetrators of abuse can track personal devices and communication made from them. Telstra’s free payphones are a safe and secure channel for victims of domestic and family violence to seek help and support – simply call 1800 RESPECT from any Telstra payphone nationally.
Telstra SAFE team
For Telstra customers, the customer support team is trained to identify affected customers and can refer you to the SAFE team for further help. The SAFE team is specially trained to help victim-survivors stay safely connected to their Telstra services and can be reached between 8am – 6pm weekdays on 1800 452 566.
WESNET
Since 2014, Telstra have been close partners with WESNET, the peak body for specialist women’s domestic and family violence services. They have now donated over 34,000 smartphones with $30 of pre-paid credit to WESNET to give to victim-survivors impacted by D&FV as well as providing dedicated SAFE customer support team to help victim-survivors safely activate the service.
Where to get help:
Call 000 if you are in immediate danger.
Call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) – The National Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Counselling Service offers confidential online and telephone counselling, information and referral services.
Call the Telstra SAFE team (1800 452 566) – The specially trained consultants help victim-survivors stay safely connected to their Telstra services.
Ask Izzy – Ask Izzy is a website that connects people in need with housing, a meal, money help, family violence support, counselling and much more. It is free and anonymous, and if you’re on the Telstra mobile network, you can access Ask Izzy on your phone even if you don’t have credit or access to Wi-Fi.
CLICK HERE TO SEE PAYPHONE LOCATIONS AUSTRALIA-WIDE
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Telstra Exchange website.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: Telstra Exchange website
SUBSCRIBE
Want to get all the latest events and activities straight to your inbox?
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter below to keep up to date with our latest posts and find out all the best events & activities for Adelaide families. Newsletters are only sent once a week, and you may sometimes get a special offer exclusively for our subscribers only!
