Publication – Page 3 – Violence Against Women and Children

“Never waste a crisis”: Domestic and family violence policy and practice initiatives in response to COVID-19 (DAHLIA-19)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: December 9, 2021 2021 , Publication

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 have emerged to address these heightened risks, not much is known about their impact. ANROWS and the University of Melbourne have been working in partnership on DAHLIA-19, an international research study exploring domestic and family violence service provision – and in particular, innovative practice – in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research has taken place in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa, and is funded by the UKRI’s Economic and Social Research Council. This report looks broadly at Australian initiatives that were implemented during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic up until June 2021 highlighting innovations and practices within the sector and considerations for policy and practice moving forward.

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Researchers: McKibbin, G., Humphreys, C., Gallois, E., Robinson, M., Sijnja, J., Yeung, J. & Goodbourn, R.

Year: 2021

Citation: McKibbin, G., Humphreys, C., Gallois, E., Robinson, M., Sijnja, J., Yeung, J. & Goodbourn, R. (2021) AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY REPORT “Never waste a crisis”: Domestic and family violence policy and practice initiatives in response to COVID-19 (DAHLIA-19) Sydney: ANROWS

The KODY Project: Report on the development of an all-of-family intervention at the intersections of DFV and AOD (2021)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: November 17, 2021 2021 , Publication

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 Child and Family Welfare. The report includes an overview of the practice-research partnership, achievements of the KODY Project, the program theory of change, marketing materials and outcomes evaluation measures.

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

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: August 3, 2021 2021 , Publication

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.

Beyond the Victim-offender Binary: Legal and Anti-violence Intervention Considerations With Women Who Have Used Force in the U.S. and Australia (2021)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: June 16, 2021 2021 , Publication

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 binary persists across police, court, corrections, intervention, and child protection settings. However, work with cisgender heterosexual women with offenses of abuse and violence demonstrates that the binary does not capture their complex experiences. Instead, they have “offended” in the context of often surviving long-term harm in their families of origin and from their intimate partners. Because their experiences do not align with the binary, they are caught in ineffective and retraumatizing responses.

The authors use an intersectional theoretical framework to explore how heterosexual cisgender women’s use of force complicates the victim-offender binary. By understanding women who have used force as having both survived and caused harm, rather than “victims” or “offenders,” the authors call attention to the limitations of, and harm caused by, binary approaches. The authors also call for a reconceptualization beyond the binary—challenging established legal and intervention frameworks. To demonstrate the need for this reconceptualization, the authors report on U.S. and Australian legal cases, intervention approaches, and discuss socio-legal systems implications.

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Read more about the Women who use force Project

Researchers: Larance, L. Y., Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C., Goodmark, L., & Douglas, H.

Year: 2021

Citation: Larance, L. Y., Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C., Goodmark, L., & Douglas, H. (2021). Beyond the Victim-offender Binary: Legal and Anti-violence Intervention Considerations With Women Who Have Used Force in the U.S. and Australia. Affilia, 37(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099211060549

Domestic violence and the impact on young children (2021)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: June 16, 2021 2021 , Publication

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 of their relationships with caregivers, and the intersection of adversities experienced. While many children living with DV have protective factors that mean that they do as well as those in the general community, outcomes are worst for those children where the violence is chronic and severe and there are few mediating influences.

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Researchers: Kertesz, M., Fogden, L., & Humphreys, C.

Year: 2021

Citation: Kertesz, M., Fogden, L., & Humphreys, C. (2021). Domestic violence and the impact on young children. In Devaney, J., Bradbury-Jones, C., Macy, R., Øverlien, C. and Holt, S. (Eds), The Routledge Handbook of Domestic Violence and Abuse (pp. 128 – 140) London: Routledge.

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

Posted by: Esther Gallois Posted on: May 3, 2021 2021 , Publication

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

Interventions for women who use force in a family context: an Australian Practice Framework (2021)

Posted by: Anna Bornemisza Posted on: January 12, 2021 2021 , Publication

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 research reports on this topic.

The framework is based on a research program about women who use force in a family context, which has included academic researchers from the University of Melbourne and Curtin University and service providers and users (Baptcare and Berry Street).

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Researchers: Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C. & Larance, L.Y.

Year: 2021

Citation:
Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C. & Larance, L.Y. (2021). Interventions for women who use force in a family context: an Australian Practice Framework. Melbourne: University of Melbourne.

Isobe, J., Healey, L. & Humphreys, C. (2020). A critical interpretive synthesis of the intersection of domestic violence with parental issues of mental health and substance use. Health and Social Care in the Community, 28(5), 1394–1407.

Posted by: Anna Bornemisza Posted on: November 2, 2020 2020 , Publication

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 includes questioning of the literature in order to problematise gaps, contradictions and constructions of issues. A review of the literature from 2010 to 2018 was conducted with the structured search strategy identifying 40 relevant research articles. Synthesis and critique of these articles revealed three mutually informative themes through which to understand the literature and how it can inform practice. They were as follows: differences in theoretical approaches and client focus; complexity of system’s collaboration; and practices converging on mothers. Taken together, these themes facilitated the development of the synthesising construct: strengthening intersection between DFV, AOD and MH sectors. Attention to practice at multiple levels that responds to the dynamics of gender and the differing impacts of violence was often lacking, particularly in the context of heightened child protection concerns where collaboration between sectors is needed. Both promising and problematic practices relating to gender dynamics and accountability converged on mothers. While there were exceptions, generally, there was an absence of engagement with, and recognition of, the impacts of fathers’ patterns of using violence and control on adult and child survivors. Promising practice related to the strengthening of the mother–child relationship and attention to MH and its intersection with domestic violence. Strengthening the intersections between DFV, AOD and MH practices with attention to keeping the perpetrator of violence in view is critical to overcoming the poor practice that can occur when sectors are siloed from each other.

To view the original publication, click here.

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Researchers: Isobe, J., Healey, L. & Humphreys, C.

Year: 2020

Practice-led research: Developing communities of practice to drive research and practice change in the domestic and family violence arena (2020)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: June 16, 2020 2020 , Publication

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 researcher should consider both backstage and frontstage performativity. Backstage considerations refer to the political and cultural context and implications for trust and reciprocity with migrant and refugee communities. The frontstage performance refers to ethical considerations such as benefice, fidelity and the avoidance of harm by ensuring informed consent, guaranteeing anonymity and privacy, respecting subjects’ rights and applying findings for improved outcomes for clients.

The last consideration is a priority for practice researchers who are genuinely committed to improving the well-being of migrants and the effectiveness of social interventions in achieving improved social justice outcomes. Frontstage performance also involves the selection of methods that are culturally sensitive and safe, negotiating languages and translation and the recruitment of difficult-to-reach participants. Good intentions alone will not guarantee ethical anti-oppressive research.

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Diemer, K., Humphreys, C., Fogden, L., Gallant, D., Spiteri-Staines, A., Bornemisza, A., & Vercoe, E. (2020). Caring Dads Program: Helping fathers value their children (Research report, 02/2020). Melbourne, VIC.

Posted by: Anna Bornemisza Posted on: May 1, 2020 2020 , Publication

Abstract:

In Australia, there are few services helping men who have used violence that specifically focus on improving parenting practices. Caring Dads is Australia’s first evidence-based behaviour-change program helping fathers who have used violence to improve their relationship with their children. In an evaluation of the trial conducted by the University of Melbourne, the Caring Dads program has been shown to have a positive impact on fathers’ parenting and co-parenting practices, reduce the risk of children’s further exposure to domestic and family violence, increase fathers’ ability to identify the impact of their aggressive behaviour on their children, and improve men’s responses to people more generally.

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Researchers: Diemer, K., Humphreys, C., Fogden, L., Gallant, D., Spiteri-Staines, A., Bornemisza, A., & Vercoe, E.

Year: 2020