Celebrating Collaboration and Impact

The Family Violence, Sexual Violence Knowledge Project has brought together the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, No to Violence, Safe and Equal, Sexual Assault Services Victoria and Family Safety Victoria to strengthen how evidence, practice knowledge and lived experience are shared across the sector.

This final knowledge-sharing event celebrated the achievements of the project and highlighted emerging evidence, innovative practice and lived-experience-led approaches that are strengthening responses for children, young people and families affected by family and sexual violence.

Jump to:

• University of Melbourne’s Homicide at Home presentation
• No to Violence presentation on Youth IPV
• SASVic & Safe and Equal’s presentation on early intervention for children and young people affected by family violence, sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviours
• FVSV Knowledge Project emerging outcomes

Key messages from the day

• Multidisciplinary practice is essential to supporting children, young people and families affected by violence.
• Research, lived experience and frontline expertise each play a critical role in informing better policy and practice.
• Children and young people must be recognised as clients in their own right and supported through child-centred approaches.
• Cross-sector collaboration is critical to addressing service gaps and creating more coordinated responses.
• The project has demonstrated the value of knowledge translation, turning evidence into practical resources, conversations and action.

Child-Centred Responses to Family Violence Homicide

The University of Melbourne’s Homicide at Home research partnership shared findings from Australia’s first study to directly centre the experiences of children and young people bereaved by family violence homicide.

A key focus of the presentation was the partnership between the research team and the Centre’s OPEN (Outcomes, Practice and Evidence Network) team. Together, they have worked to translate research findings into practical resources, professional learning opportunities and policy conversations that can improve outcomes for children, young people and families.

Key insights

• Children and young people affected by family violence homicide often experience long-term impacts, including grief, stigma, disrupted relationships and gaps in support.
• Lived experience voices were central to both the research and the development of practical responses.
• The partnership with OPEN has helped move the work beyond traditional research outputs and into the hands of practitioners, policymakers and decision-makers.
• Events, resources and knowledge translation activities have created opportunities for lived-experience advocates, researchers and practitioners to learn from one another and shape future responses.
• Resources such as What Ally Needs Now demonstrate how evidence and lived experience can be translated into practical tools that support children, families and professionals.
• Ongoing advocacy is helping build momentum for more tailored and coordinated supports for children and young people bereaved by family violence homicide.

Download ‘What Ally Needs Now’

This book was created with people who have lived experience of losing a loved one to intimate partner violence, as well as researchers and professionals who work to improve support for them and their families.

Digital copies of this book are now available for immediate download.

Access FREE eBook!

Read more about this work over at the Spotlight on: Child-centred practice after fatal family violence

Visit the spotlight

Understanding and Responding to Youth Intimate Partner Violence

No to Violence shared findings from its Youth Intimate Partner Violence Evidence and Practice Project, highlighting the unique challenges faced by young people who use or experience violence in their intimate relationships.

The presentation focused on the gaps that exist between child, youth, adult and legal service systems, and the need for responses that reflect young people’s developmental needs and circumstances.

Key insights

• Young people experiencing or using intimate partner violence often fall between service systems designed for either children or adults.
• Effective responses require collaboration between youth services, family violence services, therapeutic supports and justice systems.
• Violence in the home, gender inequality, social influences and disrupted development can all contribute to youth intimate partner violence.
• The Meli Young Men’s Group demonstrated the impact of flexible, relationship-based approaches that combine accountability with trauma-informed support.
• Strong practitioner relationships and rapid, flexible responses can significantly improve engagement and outcomes.
• Continued investment is needed in workforce capability, evaluation, referral pathways and tailored responses for young people.

Early Intervention for Children and Young People

Safe and Equal and Sexual Assault Services Victoria shared emerging evidence on early intervention for children and young people aged 10 to 14 affected by family violence, sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviours.

The presentation highlighted opportunities to strengthen support before harm escalates and explored the practice approaches most likely to promote safety, wellbeing and recovery.

Key insights

• Early intervention should be understood as a continuum that spans prevention, early response and recovery.
• Children and young people should be recognised as victim survivors and supported as clients in their own right.
• Effective approaches are flexible, strengths-based, trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate.
• Positive relationships, family and community connections, resilience and agency are central to children’s recovery and wellbeing.
• Greater investment is needed in workforce development, particularly in areas such as child development, trauma, cultural safety and inclusion.
• Stronger coordination across specialist and mainstream services can help ensure children and young people receive timely and appropriate support.

Emerging Outcomes

An important part of the project was measuring its impact over time. Dr Mandy Charman, from the Centre’s evidence and evaluation team OPEN (Outcomes, Practice and Evidence Network), shared emerging outcomes drawn from the project impact survey and aggregated event feedback surveys.

Strong reach and engagement

The project reached a broad cross-sector audience through events, the Knowledge Hub and monthly newsletter.

• 2,407 event registrations and at least 1,257 attendees across four events
• 92% of event survey respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with project events
• The Knowledge Hub and newsletter provided valued and accessible entry points to evidence, resources and learning

Knowledge translated into emerging capability and practice

The findings suggest the project is strengthening workforce knowledge and supporting evidence-informed practice.

• 81% of respondents reported the project introduced or reinforced knowledge and skills
• 93% reported that learning from project events had influenced, or was likely to influence, their practice

Stronger knowledge sharing and cross-sector connection

The project helped build shared understanding across disciplines and sectors.

• 72% reported gaining new perspectives relevant to their work
• 70% reported improved understanding of how family and sexual violence impacts children and young people
• 70% reported improved understanding of the roles and expertise of organisations across sectors

Together, these findings demonstrate the project’s contribution to increased access to knowledge, emerging practice capability and stronger cross-sector knowledge sharing.

Looking Ahead

While the current funded phase of the Family Violence, Sexual Violence Knowledge Project is drawing to a close, the event highlighted the lasting value of the work.

Beyond the resources, publications and events, the project has strengthened relationships across sectors, created shared understandings and demonstrated effective approaches to translating research, practice expertise and lived experience into meaningful change.

The Knowledge Hub will continue to provide access to evidence and resources, while the partnerships and connections developed through the project create a strong foundation for future collaboration.

Most importantly, the event reinforced a shared commitment to ensuring children, young people and families affected by family and sexual violence receive more connected, evidence-informed and child-centred support.