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Author: Esther Gallois

All-of-family responses to children, mothers and fathers accessing services for domestic and family violence in Victoria, Australia (2022)

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: August 19, 2022 ,

Abstract While DV is perpetrated in all parts of society, it may be experienced differently, depending upon gender, sexuality, race, and experiences of disadvantage and trauma. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, past and present trauma, impact of colonisation and the legacy of extreme social disadvantage, contribute to higher rates of DV and the further disruption of mother-child bonds through removal of children into out-of-home care. Migrant and refugee families also face challenges relating to racism, culture and migration status.

This policy and practice brief summarises lessons learnt about all- of-family approaches to DV in the context of the Victorian service system, with a focus on Australian research, and evidence developed through Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence projects (see www.saferfamilies.org.au). The recommendations will be useful to decision makers of programs aimed at parenting in the context of DV.

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Researchers Margaret Kertesz, Cathy Humphreys, Harriet MacMillan, Stephanie Brown, Rebecca Giallo, Leesa Hooker, Eva Alisic, Kelsey Hegarty

Year 2022

Citation Kertesz M, Humphreys C, MacMillan H, Brown S, Giallo R, Hooker L, Alisic E, Hegarty K, (2022) All-of-family responses to children, mothers and fathers accessing services for domestic and family violence in Victoria, Australia: Policy and Practice Discussion Paper. Safer Families Centre. University of Melbourne.

The SHEBA project, Safe at Home, Experiences, Barriers and Access

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: August 11, 2022 ,

Abstract: The SHEBA project (Safe at Home, Experiences, Barriers and Access) draws on a strong partnership between researchers (University of Melbourne and University of NSW), Victorian Community Sector organisations providing family violence services (McAuley, Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand, In-Touch, Centre of Non-Violence) and women with lived experience (The Weavers) to understand the safety and effectiveness of personal safety initiatives and other strategies to keep women and their children safely in their homes. The perspectives of women with lived experience, practitioners and policy workers will be explored with a view to informing policy and practice to strengthen the current Victorian response. Particular attention will be given to women from minority cohorts experiencing compounding issues of discrimination. It will also ascertain the implication for safe at home responses at times of disaster and emergencies.

Researchers: Cathy Humphreys, Kristin Diemer, Jasmin Isobe

Funders/Partner Organisations:

McAuley
www.mcauley.org.au

Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand
www.goodshep.org.au

InTouch
www.intouch.org.au

Centre for Non-Violence
www.cnv.org.au

Project Dates: July 2022-July 2024

Contact:

Prof Cathy Humphreys
Cathy.humphreys@unimelb.edu.au
Ph: +61 437 392 181

Safe & Together Addressing ComplexitY: Long-term practice change (2021)

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: August 3, 2022 ,

Abstract:

This study focused on long-term practice changes reported by participants of the STACY Project (Safe & Together Addressing ComplexitY) in follow up interviews 12 months after the project. Sixteen interviews were conducted, focusing on participant insights about changes in their practice since participating in the STACY Communities of Practice in 2019, and the sustainability of any such changes. Findings related to shared language, leadership and authorising environment, management, connections and proximity, diversity, time and funding were used to inform the development of the ESTIE Project (Evidence to Support Safe & Together Implementation and Evaluation).

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Researchers: Jasmin Isobe, Darcy Watson, Arnold So, Erin Links, Margaret Kertesz

Year: 2021

Citation: Isobe, J., Watson, D., So, A., Links, E., & Kertesz, M. (2021). Safe & Together Addressing ComplexitY: Long-term practice change. Briefing paper, University of Melbourne.

The attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce and why they matter to children who live with violence

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: July 28, 2022 ,

Abstract In Australia, like other developed countries, there has been an increase in reports to child protection services about children experiencing domestic violence. While there is research on the importance of the skills and knowledge of the child protection workforce for this growing problem, little is available about practitioner attitudes and beliefs. This paper presents findings on research undertaken in New South Wales, which is the most populated state in Australia. The research considered the attitudes and beliefs of the statutory child protection workforce about domestic violence. It relied on a large-scale survey of 1041 child protection practitioners. In order to compare the attitudes and beliefs of child protection workforce with those of the general community, the survey replicated questions from the Australian National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Surveys. Overall, the attitudes and beliefs of the workforce more closely reflected contemporary theory and evidence about domestic violence than those of the community. The research also examined variations in the attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce according to practitioner characteristics, finding variations by gender. The implications for the fields of child protection and social work are discussed.

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Researchers Kate Alexander, Prof Cathy Humphreys, A/Prof Sarah Wise, Albert Zhou

Year 2022

Citation Alexander, K., Humphreys, C., Wise, S., & Zhou, A. (2022). The attitudes and beliefs of the child protection workforce and why they matter to children who live with violence. Child & Family Social Work, 1– 12. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12954

“Frantic online searches for help”: design considerations for an online early intervention service addressing harmful sexual behaviour

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: July 28, 2022 ,

Abstract Secondary prevention efforts, which target risk and protective factors associated with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) and seek to intervene early in the trajectory of HSB, are underdeveloped in Australia. This study explored design considerations for an online early intervention service for children and young people worried about their sexual thoughts and behaviours. A trauma-informed child right’s framework underpinned the study, which involved 10 individual interviews with international experts in HSB, and one group interview (n = 3) with Australian practitioners. Analysis was carried out using thematic analysis. Results reflect design considerations in relation to: theoretical approaches; practice frameworks; service delivery components; and helpseeking challenges. Key tensions emerging from the results are discussed, including the need to move beyond binary constructions of victims and perpetrators.

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Researchers Dr Gemma McKibbin, Matt Tyler, Esther Gallois, Dr Anneliese Spiteri-Staines, Prof Cathy Humphreys & Julie Green

Year 2022

Citation McKibbin, G., Tyler, M., Gallois, E., Spiteri-Staines, A., Humphreys, C. & Green, J. (2022) “Frantic online searches for help”: design considerations for an online early intervention service addressing harmful sexual behaviour, Journal of Sexual Aggression, DOI: 10.1080/13552600.2022.2102682

A global silence – a critical interpretive synthesis of Aboriginal mothering through domestic and family violence.

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: May 3, 2022 ,

Abstract: Aboriginal women globally face extreme risk of violence and their exposure to domestic and family violence (DFV) and state sanctioned violence is increasing. Attention to the impact on Aboriginal mothering is lacking and is underpinned by issues of social justice. This study employs Critical Interpretive Synthesis to examine the evidence on Aboriginal mothering through DFV. Serrant-Green’s Silences Framework was used to structure the critique, understand its problematics and generate an argument to counter the evidential silence. From 6,117 search results, ten publications were reviewed, only four of which substantially addressed Aboriginal mothering in the context of family and domestic violence; a conspicuous absence from the literature about Aboriginal women, children, and mothering. Studies addressing Aboriginal women’s experience of DFV did not credit the issue of mothering. Equally, studies that did address mothering through violence were generally not inclusive of Aboriginal women. Silence, therefore, sits at the nexus of DFV, Aboriginal women, and mothering. While violence against Aboriginal women is acknowledged as a social ill, inattention to mothering in research represents a disregard for Aboriginal women’s mothering identities and roles. Aboriginal women’s voice and citizenship are critical to addressing this issue.

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Researchers: A/Prof Shawana Andrews, Prof Cathy Humphreys, A/Prof Bridget Hamilton

Year: 2021

Citation: Andrews, S., Humphreys, C. & Hamilton, B. (2021) A global silence – a critical interpretive synthesis of Aboriginal mothering through domestic and family violence. Affilia, Journal of Women and Social Work, DOI: 10.1177/08861099211055520 10

Participatory practice guideline development at the intersections of domestic and family violence, mental distress and/or parental substance use.

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: May 3, 2022 ,

Abstract:

It is well established that the service system has a poor history of responding holistically to address the needs of children and families living with co-occurring complexities such as domestic violence, parental mental health and/or substance use. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to primarily describe the developmental process used to create guidelines to inform practice at the intersections of domestic violence, mental health and alcohol and other drug services, ensuring that the tactics of coercive control are visible in contexts of complexity.

Practice-led research engaged practitioners in the development of guidelines to promote an integrated response to working with families experiencing domestic violence, substance use and mental health issues. The integrated approach drew from the Safe & Together model, emphasising partnering with women survivors, pivoting to the perpetrator, focusing on children’s safety and well-being, promoting worker safety, collaborating across agencies and influencing organisational change. The process demonstrated the usefulness of this integrated approach, using practitioner-based examples.

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Researchers:

A/Prof Susan Lynn Heward-Belle, Dr Margaret Kertesz, Prof Cathy Humphreys, A/Prof Menka Tsantefski, Jasmin Isobe

Year:

2022

Citation:

Heward-Belle, S., Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C., Tsantefeski, M. & Isobe, J. (2022). Participatory practice guideline development at the intersections of domestic and family violence, mental distress and/or parental substance use. Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 15, 51-65 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ADD-12-2021-0017/full/html

DAHLIA-19 Australian Case Study

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: April 5, 2022 ,

Abstract:

Situated against this background of changes to the family law context is the National Covid-19 List. The Australian mapping report for the DAHLIA-19 study found that a major innovative change that took place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic was a rapid shift from face-to-face practice to tele-practice and online/working-from-home models (McKibbin et al., 2021). The National Covid-19 List, established on 29 April 2020 by the then Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia, represents a landmark shift in how urgent family law matters are addressed and progressed, with the transition to an online model giving rise to a new possibility of managing these matters centrally. This critical shift allowed the Courts, for the first time, to allocate resources where they were required nationally, and not be beholden to allocations per state and territory.

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Researchers: Sijnja, J., Robinson, M., Humphreys, C., McKibbin, G.

Year: 2022

Citation: Sijnja, J., Robinson, M., Humphreys, C., & McKibbin, G. (2022). The National Covid-19 List: An Australian case study. Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.