Mandatory sentencing for attacks on emergency workers are proposed as a tough but fair health and safety measure. Yet this approach has been shown to be ineffective, while devastating the lives of community members with addiction, severe mental health challenges and people subject to family violence.

Yet the Victorian State Government is now putting this bill on the table with bipartisan support.

Meghan Fitzgerald, Social Action, Policy & Law Reform Manager at Fitzroy Legal Service, talks us through the bill and its likely negative consequences, especially for women. And we speak to community sector worker Vanessa Born who is taking a stand against the proposed amendments.