On March 25th, 2025, the second KODY Practitioner Workshop was held in Brunswick, Melbourne. Practitioners and program managers from Kids First and Odyssey House Victoria (OHV), along with researchers from the University of Melbourne and Southern Cross University, attended the five-hour workshop. In the KODY project’s third and final year, ...

In the context of domestic and family violence (DFV), substance use often forms part of the tactics ofviolence and abuse. Alcohol and (or) Other Drugs (AOD) when leveraged as a tactic of violence andabuse is referred to as substance use coercion, though some stakeholders prefer the term substanceuse exploitation. While ...

This report presents the findings from the first KODY Policy Stakeholder Group workshop held at the University of Melbourne on the 29th of November 2022. The KODY Policy Stakeholder Group (PSG) brings together professionals from across Australia who are interested in improving the policy environment and services for families experiencing ...

On March 16th, 2023, the KODY Program’s first Practitioner Workshop was held in Richmond, Melbourne. Practitioners and program managers from Kids First and Odyssey House Victoria (OHV), along with researchers from the University of Melbourne and Southern Cross University, attended the three-hour workshop. The first half of the workshop consisted ...

This scoping paper explored the contextual factors influencing the development and implementation of programmes addressing men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence in the context of substance use. Twenty-one peer reviewed studies reporting on ten programs were included for analysis. This scoping review found a limited evidence base, indicating systemic barriers ...

”Alcohol and other drug use increases the severity of violence towards victim survivors, but the drug and alcohol sector and the domestic violence sector remain stubbornly siloed.” In this Pursuit article, Professor Cathy Humphreys drew attention to data on increased numbers of domestic-related assaults and alcohol-related assaults recorded in Alice ...

This project aimed to explore relational support as an area of learning and intervention contributing to more positive relationships, recovery, and wellbeing for people with lived experience of BPD. This study focused on family, friends and carers of someone with BPD as a priority group in the BPD community, and ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

This paper reports an Australian project designed to simultaneously explore and capacity build professional practice when working at the intersection of parental mental health and/or problematic substance use and domestic violence (DV). Data from this paper are derived from two main sources: observations and ethnographic notes obtained during 28 Community ...

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 ...

In this response to the 2022 Draft National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, Professor Cathy Humphreys highlighted the lack of attention to the issue of substance use as an integral part of coercive control and the tactics of abuse. Access Document Researchers: Humphreys, C. Year: 2022 Citation: ...

The ESTIE Research Report provides comprehensive details on the background, methodology, practice findings and implications of the ESTIE action research study that both investigated and developed practitioner and organisational capacity to drive improvements in collaborative and holistic service provision for children and families living with DFV where parental issues of ...

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 ...

To follow up the National Consultation on Coercive Control held 7th November 2022, Professor Cathy Humphreys wrote this short briefing on substance use coercion, an issue she raised at the consultation. Prof Humphreys discussed her concerns regarding the lack of identification of substance use coercion amongst the elements identified in ...

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 ...

The ESTIE Quick Reference Guide is a desktop prompt for workers practising at the intersections of domestic and family violence (DFV), mental health, alcohol and other drug use, and child protection. It is a quick reference companion document to the ESTIE Practice Resource and should not be used without reference ...

This Practice Resource is designed for any worker practising at the intersections of domestic and family violence, mental health, and alcohol and other drug use, with families who are challenged by any or all of these issues. It provides detailed guidance, examples, and tips, and can be used, for example, ...

Abstract: This study aims to build on the existing evidence by trialling the KODY program which addresses harmful substance use by men who also perpetrate domestic violence; the safety and wellbeing of women and children; the needs of children in their own right, as well as in relationship with their ...

Abstract: This report describes the activities undertaken in 2020-21 by the University of Melbourne with Kids First and Odyssey Across the world, the risks of experiencing DFV have increased due to restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. While a number of policy initiatives and innovative practices ...

Abstract: This report describes the activities undertaken in 2020-21 by the University of Melbourne with Kids First and Odyssey House Victoria to develop KODY, an all-of-family intervention at the intersections of DFV and AOD. These activities were supported by a Learning Systems Grant Report for the Centre for Excellence in ...

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 the United States (U.S.) and Australian contexts, the fight to achieve legal and societal recognition of cisgender men's violence against cisgender women operated according to an incident-based victim-offender binary. Those held accountable for the violence were seen as offenders, those who survived the violence were seen as victims. This ...

This chapter outlines the impact of domestic violence (DV) on young children. Exposure to DV has detrimental effects on the emotional and behavioural adjustment of significant numbers of children. Impacts on children vary greatly, depending on developmental stage, the longevity, severity and extent of the violence and abuse, the quality ...

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 ...

Abstract: This Practice Framework is designed as a brief guide for practitioners and program designers to the principles and intervention style deemed essential for working with this population. It is best read in the context of a program curriculum such as the Positive Shift Curriculum or the University of Melbourne ...

Abstract: A critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) methodology was used with the aim of informing practice with children and families when domestic and family violence (DFV) and parental issues relating to alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and mental health (MH) are also present. A CIS is grounded in the literature, but ...

Conducting practice research with migrants and refugees is a complex exercise, involving multiple agendas, diverse actors and varied intercultural relationships. Methodological challenges should not be underestimated, even when the research is conducted by an experienced practice researcher with prior knowledge of the cultural context. Before undertaking cross-cultural research, the practice ...