Publication – Violence Against Women and Children

Kertesz, M., Nguyen, H. T. D., Guillou, M., Tsantefski, M., & Humphreys, C. (2024). KODY Practitioner Workshop: A KODY Model for Change. Report of Practitioner Workshop with Kids First and Odyssey House Victoria, 25 March 2024. University of Melbourne and Southern Cross University.

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: September 20, 2024 2024 , Publication

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, the workshop provided an opportunity for practitioners, program managers, and researchers to reflect on the novel and ambitious KODY program. Where did the program succeed? Where and how did it fall short on delivering an all-of-family service? Where, and more importantly, how, can it be improved? The interdisciplinary professionals gathered at the workshop, whose collective insights encompassed acquired experience, current practice, and research evidence, attempted to answer these reflective and important questions.

The workshop ran in three parts. In the first part, ‘Stories from Research and Evaluation’, researchers presented an overview of KODY evaluation data gathered over the 3-year period, with practitioners providing feedback and reflections on the implications for research and practice. In the second part, ‘Stories from Practice’, practitioners were invited to write a story about a client or family they had worked with on the KODY program (or a client or family who would have benefited from the KODY program). In the third part, ‘Creating the KODY Model for Change’, practitioners examined the existing elements and goals of the KODY program, shared ideas about how to improve the KODY model, and reflected on the implications for future service delivery.

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Citation:
Kertesz, M., Nguyen, H. T. D., Guillou, M., Tsantefski, M., & Humphreys, C. (2024). KODY Practitioner Workshop: A KODY Model for Change. Report of Practitioner Workshop with Kids First and Odyssey House Victoria, 25 March 2024. University of Melbourne and Southern Cross University.

KODY Research Team. (2023). Substance Use Coercion: The Intersection of Domestic and Family Violence and Alcohol and Other Drugs. Policy Briefing Paper, November 2023. University of Melbourne.

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: November 9, 2023 2023 , Publication

In the context of domestic and family violence (DFV), substance use often forms part of the tactics of
violence and abuse. Alcohol and (or) Other Drugs (AOD) when leveraged as a tactic of violence and
abuse is referred to as substance use coercion, though some stakeholders prefer the term substance
use exploitation. While acknowledging this nuance, this briefing paper will generally use the term
‘substance use coercion’ for ease of reading, and reflecting the dominant language over a 2 year
period in the Policy Stakeholder Group.

This paper discusses the current Australian policy context and the pathways forward for the inclusion
of substance use coercion in DFV and AOD policy, including the impact on children and young
people, and the need for an aligned national and state policy to reduce silos between sectors.

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KODY Policy Stakeholder Group: Leverage Points for policy development across sectors: a systems approach. Report of Workshop 1, November 2022 (2023)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: June 16, 2023 2023 , Publication

This report presents the findings from the first KODY Policy Stakeholder Group workshop held at the University of Melbourne on the 29^th 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 issues with substance use and family violence. Stakeholders came from a range of sectors including alcohol and other drugs (AOD), domestic and family violence (DFV), child protection, child and family welfare and government policymakers. This report contains a summary of key topic areas discussed in the PSG Workshop:

A synthesis of current knowledge on the relationship between AOD and DFV.
A snapshot of the systems targeted by the PSG.
A summary of presentations adhering to the knowledge diamond heuristic.
An action plan with key priorities identified to guide the PSG’s future work.

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KODY Practitioner Workshop: Practitioner-led Knowledge Building – Report (2023)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: June 8, 2023 2023 , Publication

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 of a case study presented by KODY Caring Dads (CD) facilitators to illustrate the work, and an overview of program referral data, client numbers and profile, presented by the research team. Interested professionals from outside the program attended this half of the workshop. The second part involved a conversation mapping exercise.

There was considerable discussion about the development of various aspects of the KODY program since it started in 2021. A wider conception of KODY than a groupwork program for men emerged – towards a program not only working with all members of the family, but also actively engaging with the services surrounding the family and working collaboratively and holistically with them. This paper presents the Case Study, and a summary of participants’ thoughts, fears, and hopes about the KODY program.

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Programme responses for men who perpetrate intimate partner violence in the context of alcohol or other drugs: a scoping review (2023)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: April 28, 2023 2023 , Publication

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 hindering services’ capacity to expand this field of work. Additional support is required from the wider service systems to intervene in men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence and use of substances.

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Humphreys, C. (2023, 30 January). Domestic Violence Linked to Alcohol Use is A National Emergency. Pursuit.

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: January 30, 2023 2023 , Publication

”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 Springs between 2021-2022, to highlight the intersection between domestic and family violence and alcohol and other drugs in Australia. In particular, Professor Humphreys discussed experiences of violence where alcohol and other drug use is part of the tactics of coercive control used by perpetrators, and emphasised the role of wholistic service responses in this area.

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Citation:
Humphreys, C. (2023, 30 January). Domestic Violence Linked to Alcohol Use is A National Emergency. Pursuit. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/domestic-violence-linked-to-alcohol-use-is-a-national-emergency

Exploring relational support for the BPD community: Final project report (2022)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: December 23, 2022 2022 , Publication

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 an identified gap in research and literature. This project aimed to contribute to the emerging discourse surrounding the role of relationships and social connection in recovery from BPD and support for family, friends, and carers, and provide an initial evidence base for further inquiry in this under-researched and complex area.

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Researchers: Anneliese Spiteri-Staines, Jasmin Isobe

Year: 2022

Citation: Spiteri-Staines, A., & Isobe, J. (2022). Exploring relational support for the BPD community: Final project report. Melbourne: University of Melbourne.

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 2022 , Publication

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 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 2022 , Publication

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 2022 , Publication

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