As part of the cross-peaks Family Violence Sexual Violence Knowledge Project, No to Violence (NTV) hosted a national roundtable and webinar exploring responses to young people’s use of intimate partner violence (IPV).
Chaired by survivor advocate Annie King, the event brought together researchers, practitioners and policymakers in person and online to share lessons and explore what it will take to build this work at scale.
Young people experiencing intimate partner violence are being failed by a system with almost no programs tailored for young men and boys, a national roundtable convened by No to Violence heard last week. The event, which brought together more than 350 researchers, practitioners and advocates in Melbourne and online, came just a week after 13-year-old Layla Jeffery—one of four women and girls to die in family and gender-based violence in as many days—was found dead in Victoria, with a 16-year-old boy known to her charged with murder. No to Violence research lead Dr Lisa Wheildon told the roundtable current responses to young people’s use of intimate partner violence amounted to “the wild west,” with ad hoc philanthropic funding for pilot programs rather than a systematic, national approach.
The scale of the problem is becoming increasingly visible in the data. An analysis of Victorian Crime Statistics Agency justice data shows unique Family Violence Intervention Order cases in the Children’s Court classified under “Intimate Personal Relationships” have risen by 33 per cent over the past five years—with young girls making up more than 72 per cent of victims. Roundtable participants said figures like these underscore why a coordinated, adequately funded national response can no longer be treated as optional.
That gap between isolated pilots and a genuine national system was directly addressed in the roundtable’s closing sessions on scaling what works. Scalability expert Dr Wing Hsieh cautioned against assuming any single program could be replicated nationwide, setting out four factors any scaling strategy needs to address: program design, cost, delivery nuances, and local context. Dr Hsieh reframed the task ahead not as copying a single model, but as building the infrastructure to adapt proven practices, such as the Meli Young Men’s Group in Geelong (Victoria), to different regions, cohorts and service systems.
Professor Tamara Blakemore, of the Name.Narrate.Navigate Program for Youth Violence at the University of Newcastle, pointed to a concrete pathway: collective-impact approaches already operating in regional areas, which train practitioners across a range of existing services—not just specialist family violence services—to identify and respond to boys’ and young men’s use of violence. Participants agreed this kind of cross-sector, existing-workforce model offers a more realistic route to sustainable funding and scale than building costly new specialist services from the ground up—directly answering the “wild west” problem Dr Wheildon described.
Media coverage
Youth violence crisis sparks national intervention talks | 7NEWS, 16 July 2026
System ‘fails’ youth on intimate partner violence, Canberra Times, 17 July 2026
Resources from the day
A comprehensive knowledge review as a resource for practitioners and policymakers in the domestic and family violence and youth sectors.
You can also jump over to our page on Young Person Intimate Partner Violence for all references and curated research materials.
An in-depth case study of Meli’s Young Men’s Group, documenting honestly what works and what has been learned.
Hear key findings and insights from practitioners and researchers across Australia.
You can access the slide presentation here
For any questions about this project, contact Dr Lisa Wheildon.
This event is made possible through the four peaks’ collaborative work on the Family Violence Sexual Violence Knowledge Project. Never miss an event – stay up to date by subscribing to monthly updates!
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