Publication – Page 2 – Violence Against Women and Children

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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Briefing on Substance Use Coercion – Response to the National Consultation on Coercive Control (2022)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: April 21, 2023 2022 , Publication

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 the Consultation Paper that contribute to coercive controlling tactics.

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ESTIE Quick Reference Guide: A worker’s guide to support practice at the intersections (2022)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: March 8, 2023 2022 , Publication

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 to the fuller explanations contained in the ESTIE Practice Resource.

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Authors: Toivonen, C., Kertesz, M., Lauw, M., Humphreys, C., Isobe, J., Links, E., & Laing, L.

Year: 2022

Citation: Toivonen, C., Kertesz, M., Lauw, M., Humphreys, C., Isobe, J., Links, E., & Laing, L. (2022). ESTIE Quick Reference Guide: A worker’s guide to support practice at the intersections. University of Melbourne, Melbourne and Ministry of Health, NSW.

ESTIE Practice Resource: Evidence based guidelines to support the implementation of the Safe & Together approach (2022)

Posted by: Rhys Lawry Posted on: March 8, 2023 2022 , Publication

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, in training and supporting staff, as a foundational reference for practice development, and continuous improvement.

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Authors: Toivonen, C., Lauw, M., Isobe, J., Links, E., Kertesz, M., Mandel, D., Laing, L. & Humphreys, C.

Year: 2022

Citation: Toivonen, C., Lauw, M., Isobe, J., Links, E., Kertesz, M., Mandel, D., Laing, L. & Humphreys, C. (2022) ESTIE Practice Resource: Evidence based guidelines to support the implementation of the Safe & Together approach. Ministry of Health, NSW and University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

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.

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

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

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

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

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