A series of interviews, webinars and presentations with professionals in various fields, exploring the different contexts and presenting issues that impact the young person using violence, and their family.
Dr Vicky Baker, a Senior Lecturer in gender-based violence at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) presents findings from her doctoral research exploring young peoples’ own accounts of their use of violence. Dr Baker investigates the causes, contexts and motivations for their behaviours, in this session, focuses on power, control and agency; communication, and anger and emotion regulation.
Sarah Townsend explores practices in the UK and Australia for addressing Child and Adolescent-to-parent Violence (CAPVA) to inform approaches in Aotearoa New Zealand.
This session focused on how to meaningfully include children’s voices in safety planning. Key takeaways included:
The first session of the Centre’s ‘Centring the Child’ Lunch & Learn series explored how family violence impacts child development and attachment. This session introduces a case scenario, includes a facilitated discussion with panelists, and highlights practical strategies for safe and sensitive engagement with children and young people.
Key insights included:
The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Safe and Equal, and No To Violence are pleased to share the recording of the first session in the Collaboration in Action webinar series.
This session explores how allied workforces can collaboratively assess and manage family violence risk when working with young people who use violence in the home. It focuses on MARAM Responsibilities 9 and 10 and highlights the importance of a whole-of-family, trauma-informed approach. Presenters discuss how intersecting factors such as disability, mental health, and developmental needs influence practice and response.
In this session, Dr Ashlee Curtis and Dr Travis Harries from Deakin University will discuss their recent research into substance-involved child-to-parent violence (SU-CPV).
Key findings from this research include associations between parental monitoring, parental intrusiveness, affective reactivity, concurrent reactive CPV and SU-CPV in an Australian community sample of caregivers.
In this episode of Lunchtime Logics, we hear from practitioners at the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre Gold Coast Inc. ‘Holding Hope, Creating Change‘ is an early intervention program for young people aged 5–17 who use violence against their family members.
In this webinar, we hear from researcher, David Burck (University of Queensland), who will present findings from his recently published thesis, ‘A silent shame: Exploring the lived experience of adolescent-to-mother violence where there is a history intimate partner and family violence‘.
Dave’s research brings young people’s voices to the forefront, with adolescents describing their lived experience of adolescent-to-mother violence in their own words, to answer the research question, ‘how do mothers and young people using violence, with a history of intimate partner violence and family violence , experience and understand adolescent-to-mother violence?‘.
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In this session we hear from researchers from Deakin University, who investigate links between childhood maltreatment and aggression in adulthood, and the moderating role of neurocognitive ability and substance use.
This webinar explores how to have difficult conversations with young people about school. We hear from Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown (University of Melbourne) and Tiffany Westphal (Student Stress Investigation) on considerations for working with young people who have low school attendance and their families.
In this webinar we heard from Laura Crozier (YACVic) about how the Yeah, Nah Affirmative Consent education program has focused on creating a group space for young people by young people. The presentation is followed by a panel discussion with specialist AVITH practitioners.
In this webinar we heard from Allison Cox (Berry Street) and Jessica Wright (Australian Childhood Foundation) on considerations for working with young people who use violence in the home and their families through a trauma-informed and neuroaffirmative lens.
In this webinar we heard from two of the authors Dr Silke Meyer and María Atiénzar-Prieto (PhD) who examined findings from the national ANROWS-funded study on young people’s use and experiences of violence in the home. The study considers the intersection of child maltreatment types and the likelihood of a young person using violence in the home.
At what age do we consider a child’s behaviours to be ‘violent’? This conversation with specialist practitioners will focus on key considerations for working with children under the age of 12 who are using challenging and aggressive behaviours.
This webinar addresses a challenging area of practice: when FASD is a contributing factor in a young person’s violence toward parents/carers.
Featuring:
Chye Toole-Anstey (University on Wollongong) presents research findings on mothers’ stories of experiencing adolescent violence, help-seeking pathways and service responses.
Panelists:
This discussion explores how we might provide earlier support and interventions to young people who have experienced family violence, and ways we can engage with young people to promote positive and healthy attitudes about relationships.Presenters:Carmel Hobbs (Uni of Tasmania)Fiona Buchanan (Uni of SA)Georgina Dimopoulos (Southern Cross University)Vanessa Harestad and Darcy Robertson (Brisbane Youth Service)
For this discussion we are joined by panelists from Safe and Equal, Melbourne City Mission, The Bridge Youth Service, and the Name.Narrate.Navigate Program. We hear about the presentations and needs of young people accessing homelessness and housing support services and some innovative ways of engaging and working with these young people.
In this webinar, we heard from Dr Michelle Kehoe, Evaluation and Research Development Officer with Alfred Health (headspace and the Child and Youth Mental Health Service). Michelle spoke about the complexities of AVITH within the context of mental health, and outlined some of the services and supports that practitioners can access.
Dr Heidi Saunders (Senior Practitioner, Carinity Talera, Brisbane) speaks on the importance of safe and effective engagement with young people in the context of domestic and family violence (DFV).
In this webinar we hear from Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Dr Silke Meyer, who present findings from their latest ANROWS-funded research, ‘Adolescent family violence in Australia: A national study of, prevalence use of and exposure to violence, and support needs for young people who use family violence’.
Read the factsheet here.
Children or young people using harmful sexual behaviours require specialised therapeutic support.
We spoke with representatives from the Victorian Harmful Sexual Behaviour Network, who highlighted the issues and needs relating to young people using these behaviours, and provided an overview of the SABTS (Sexually Abusive Behaviour Treatment Services) programs in Victoria.
View presentation slides
View transcript of Q&A
In this webinar, Larisa Freiverts (Team Leader and Senior Family Therapist – Meridian Youth and Family Therapy Team, Anglicare) explains attachment, neglect, the impacts of trauma on the autonomic nervous system, polyvagal theory, and creating safety within the therapeutic relationship.
We hear from Maddison Riachi, who is a current Doctoral Candidate completing her Doctor of Psychology (Clinical and Forensic) at Swinburne University and The Centre of Forensic Behavioural Science. Maddison has recently completed research investigating the topic of mental health and mental health service utilisation of young people whose use of violence has brought them to the attention of Victoria Police.
We’re then joined by our panel of Specialist Family Violence Advisors in Mental Health to discuss access to mental health support services, identifying AVITH and working holistically.
Dr Georgina Sutherland and Dr Mediya Rangi provides an overview of this ANROWS-funded project, which aims to build a better understanding of individual, relationship, community context and sociocultural factors relevant for understanding young people with disability who use violence at home.
View the presentation slides here.
Mandy Buchholtz from Uniting’s Recoded program discusses practical tips and strategies that can help families to implement safe gaming behaviours at home.
View the presentation slides here
Other Resources:
In this webinar, we heard from practitioners from Victoria’s community legal centre for young people, Youthlaw to discuss their Pre-Court AVITH Program and their model of integrated practice.
Elena Campbell, Associate Director at the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) speaks about research currently underway: the WRAP Around project.
In this interview, Jane Phillips from the Centre interviews Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter (Family Violence Command, Victoria Police) about responding to adolescent violence in the home.
The Family Violence Command is the first of its kind in any policing jurisdiction in Australia. In this interview with Centre staff, Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter addresses practical issues faced when responding to young people using violence in the home, and addresses how service sectors might work together to intervene earlier.
Malia Dewse & Tania Last, Department of Education and Training (DET) present on earlier identification and improved intervention.
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Dave Burck is the co-facilitator/co-author of the ReNew program in Qld. His presentation brings young people’s voices to the forefront of this discussion, with adolescents describing their lived experience of adolescent-to-mother violence in their own words.
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Karen Dimmock is the CEO of the Association for Children with Disability (ACD). Karen’s presentation explores: Behaviour as communication; Experience of families; Intersection of disability, mental health, family violence and mental health of mothers; What works to promote positive behaviour and more.
Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon presents on the complex needs and experiences of young people who use family violence in the home. Associate Professor Silke Meyer presents on the experiences of young people growing up with and displaying family violence: exploring the need for holistic and trauma informed responses.
The Centre for Innovative Justice’s PIPA Project examines the legal responses to adolescents using violence in the home across three Australian jurisdictions.
Dr Kyra Low is a Forensic Psychologist and the Manager of Youth Rehabilitation Programs at Justice Health, Department of Justice and Community Safety. Kyra highlights the current Youth Justice response for adolescent offenders who use family violence, some of the challenges experienced by Youth Justice and service providers in responding to these young people, and strategies to address these challenges.
Kirsten Meyer from Women’s Health West discusses using Creative Therapy with 0-17 year olds, in the wake of having experienced family violence.
If you know of a program or service that works specifically with young people using violence in the home, please get in touch!
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