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Invisible Practices: working with fathers who use violence

Posted by: admin Posted on: May 25, 2019

Invisible Practices was an action research project that involved the domestic and family violence-informed Safe & Together™ Model that capacity built participating organisations in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA in working with fathers who use violence. A multi-disciplinary, interagency Community of Practice (CoP) was established in each site, supported by the researchers, consultants and resources from the Safe & Together Institute. Project Advisory Groups (PAGs) were established in each state with membership drawn from senior levels of child protection, family services, specialist domestic and family violence (DFV) services and others. As a result of work undertaken by all participants, practice guidelines for this challenging area of work were developed and published.

Researchers:

Principle Investigator: Cathy Humphreys

Project manager: Lucy Healey

Anna Bornemisza (University of Melbourne);

Susan Heward-Belle; Lesley Laing; Cherie Toivonen (University of Sydney);

Menka Tsantefski; Patrick O’Leary; Amy Young; Tracy Wild (Griffith);

Donna Chung; Damian Green; Mark O’Hare (Curtin).

Funders: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)

Partners: Safe & Together Institute

Project Dates: 2017 – 2018

Participating Organisations in IP

NSW

  • CatholicCare
  • Department of Family and Community Services,
    Sydney, South Eastern Sydney and Northern Sydney Districts
    Gosford, Central Coast and Lakemba offices
  • Jannawi Family Centre

QLD

  • Centre Against Domestic Abuse, Caboolture
  • Churches of Christ (Intensive Family Services)
  • Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women, Caboolture
    Statutory CP and Intensive Family Services*
  • Mercy Community Services (Men’s Behaviour Change)
  • Partnership Response at Domestic Occurrences, Caboolture
  • Probation and Parole, Caboolture
  • Queensland Police Service

VIC

  • Anglicare Victoria
  • Berry Street Victoria
  • Bethany Geelong
  • Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
  • Children’s Protection Society
  • Department of Health and Human Services Child Protection (statutory CP)
  • DV Vic.
  • Lifeworks
  • No To Violence
  • Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
  • Windermere

WA

  • Department for Child Protection and Family Support

Contact: Cathy Humphreys

Publications:

Invisible practices: Intervention with fathers who use violence (Research report, 04/2018).

Invisible Practices: Intervention with fathers who use violence: Key findings and future directions (Research to policy and practice, 04/2018).

Invisible Practices: Working with fathers who use violence. Practice guide.