“As survivors, we know what could have helped us, we know what hurt us.“
Efforts to protect children from abuse which do not centre the wisdom of people who were abused as children themselves are fundamentally limited in their effectiveness.
‘Emma’s Project’ was always the temporary name for a much more collective effort for the protection of children, guided by the shared wisdom of survivors of sexual abuse during childhood.
After having read every single word from every single person who responded to the survey – three times over – ACF have a roadmap forward.
It is with pride that ACF share their survivor-renamed Our Collective Experience Project, and our first report from it: Hear us now, act now.
We encourage you to download, read and share this report with people you know who may be interested in the protection of children. The content of the report which includes extensive quotes from survivors is very powerful.
But also be aware that it may affect you as you read it. Seek out support if you find that it makes you feel distressed or upset. There are helplines in the report itself.
The Safe & Together Institute is proud to release a new paper entitled: “Ensuring the Voice of the Child is Heard, and Child’s Best Interests are Considered in Domestic Abuse Cases: Safe & Together Model and the Rights of Children” by David Mandel, CEO and creator of the Safe & Together Model. Developed in response to requests for more information on Model’s relationship to the rights of children and with contributions from Safe & Together Model practitioners from around the globe, this paper represents the most up to date articulation of the Model’s relevance to the rights of children in domestic violence situations.
For more information see
This 16 Days of Activism and beyond, let’s change the story and create a future where we are all safe, equal and respected.
We all deserve to be safe, equal and respected. But on average, a woman in Australia is killed by a man they know every 10 days. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led annually by UN Women. It runs every year from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day).
During the 16 Days of Activism, communities around the world join the call to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.
Read more about the campaign here
No to Violence is working in partnership with Family Safety Victoria (FSV) and Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) to deliver MARAM training modules for practitioners who need to have an applied understanding of MARAM and information sharing in their roles when working with adults using family violence.
MARAM sets out the responsibilities of different workforces in identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk across the family violence and broader service system.
There will be three levels of training released over 2023-24:
- Identification
- Intermediate
- Comprehensive
Depending on your role within an organisation, you will learn about different responsibilities and practice guides to keep perpetrators in view and accountable and to promote the safety of victim survivors of family violence.
The MARAM responsibilities decision guide provides an overview of how you may determine which level of responsibilities you hold.
Identification module now available
No To Violence has announced that training is now available for those workers who hold Identification responsibilities under the MARAM framework.
This training is suitable for all professionals who may identify family violence is occurring and who engage with people in a one-off, episodic or ongoing service. This training focuses on working with adults using family violence.
During this training, practitioners will learn to identify indicators for a person likely to be using family violence by observation of common narratives and behaviours. Participants will learn how to respond according to their roles and responsibilities and will be supported to use the Identification Tool.
Djirra and Safe and Equal are working to support a culturally responsive and accountable specialist family violence sector. We want to hear from mob your views on non-Aboriginal family violence services, how they can support Aboriginal people’s choices and culture and be accountable to community.
Your time is valuable and you will be offered $100 for your participation.
Call or text Anna 0447 404 334 or email [email protected]
Do you work in the Victorian family violence services system? Safe and Equal together with the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre are conducting a stocktake of client feedback processes used in family violence services.
Click here to complete the anonymous survey
In the realm of family dynamics and behaviour change, few initiatives have been as impactful as the Caring Dads program in Australia. This groundbreaking program has been making waves across the world for its innovative approach to addressing a deeply sensitive issue – assisting fathers who have used violence in rewriting their stories, to forge healthy relationships with their children.
This intervention is underpinned by the belief that men who have used violence are capable of transformation and can become nurturing, responsible caregivers. By providing participants with a nonjudgmental, empathetic group setting for introspection and growth across 17 weeks, this approach paves the way for remarkable change.
While much national and international literature recognises the intersections
of family violence and sexual harm, there is as yet little research and policy within Australia generally, or within Victoria, that addresses the co-occurrence of family violence and sexual harm experienced by adult victim survivors.
This research conducted by RMIT begins to address this important evidence gap. It seeks to expand the knowledge base with respect to both the nature of victim survivor experiences of co-occurring family violence and sexual harm, as well as supporting improvement in effective service delivery within the family violence and sexual assault sectors.
Led by the Centre for Family Research and Evaluation (CFRE) at Drummond Street Services, in partnership with research partners the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) at RMIT University and the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), and funded by Family Safety Victoria, Future-proofing Safety was a research project that sought to understand how services across Victoria responded to family violence during COVID-19.
Future-proofing Safety purposefully took a system-wide view of service interactions for people who experienced or used family violence during COVID-19. The multi-faceted project design recognised that many conventional entry points to support and approaches to service delivery fell away during the COVID-19 period. This occurred as practitioners contended with unprecedented challenges to support a population in crisis, while simultaneously adapting to the changes that the crisis brought about in their own lives.
The research highlighted a number of significant challenges and specific opportunities for services and clients that emerged over the course of the pandemic. These included elevated client risk and need, changed service responses, gaps and weaknesses within the family violence and sexual assault service system, and the complex impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce. In addition to highlighting key findings and recommendations, the final research report takes a future focus by offering a framework for crisis readiness responses that aims to future-proof how Victoria responds to family violence and disadvantage during future crises.
This snapshot examines risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence victimisation among Australian adolescents. The aim of this resource is to help you identify populations who could be at increased risk, so that protective factors can be strengthened. Although the current snapshot focuses on victim-survivors, we emphasise that prevention of intimate partner violence perpetration should be a core focus of policy intervention.
This snapshot focuses on victim-survivors of intimate partner violence. As such, the core aim of this work is to further understand the scope of intimate partner violence victimisation among Australian 18–19 year olds. Specific focus is given to different forms of intimate partner violence victimisation, and rates of intimate partner violence among adolescent females and males. The potentially protective role of peers and parents against intimate partner violence is considered.
The following questions are addressed: (1) How prevalent is intimate partner violence and abuse victimisation among adolescents aged 18–19 years? (2) What are the most common violent or abusive behaviours experienced by adolescents in an intimate relationship? (3) Do supportive friendships in the teen years reduce the risk of intimate partner violence and abuse victimisation at ages 18–19 years? (4) Do supportive relationships with parents in the teen years reduce the risk of intimate partner violence and abuse victimisation at ages 18–19 years?