Focus on lived and living experience, understanding service responses, and program evaluations.
Evidence helps us learn from what has been proven to be successful elsewhere, test and measure our own approaches, and continually learn and improve.
Jump to:
Experts by experience
Research highlighting the importance of incorporating Lived and Living Experience (LLE) into family violence and sexual violence work.
This ANROWS webinar highlights the importance of involving people with lived and living experience of DFSV in research to promote equity and deepen understanding.
Open in new tab
Learning from lived experience – a guide for professionals supporting children and young people experiencing family violence | Safe + Equal, Berry Street | Read more
From tokenism to transformation: Lived experience in child and family systems | Children & Families Australia, 2025 | Access article
A literature review of therapeutic intervention with young survivors of violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect | Mary Jo McVeigh, 2025 | Read moreReviews therapeutic approaches for young survivors and highlights a persistent gap between adult centred evaluation and children’s lived experiences.
Making financial abuse visible: Embedding women’s and children’s voices in policymaking and research | 2025 | Read moreBy bringing together perspectives spanning advocacy, service organisations, and researchers working in the field of financial abuse prevention and intervention, this white paper shows the gaps in current data collection tools, such as the personal safety survey (ABS, 2024). The paper also discusses who needs to have a seat at the table in future data collection and research design.
‘We have a part to play’: How children and young people want adults to engage them in the primary prevention of child abuse and maltreatment | Tim Moore; Morag McArthur, 2024 | Read moreThis article shares the perspectives of children and young people on their role in prevention of abuse and maltreatment.
Seeking help in their own right: Young victim-survivors’ experiences of family violence crisis responses in Victoria | Safe Steps, 2025 | Read more
Windows of opportunity | Family Life, 2024 | ReadThis research combines a literature review with insights from victim–survivors, family safety advocates and family violence professionals to examine strengths, barriers and opportunities in child-focused approaches.
Sources of lived experience in the family violence sector | Safe + Equal, 2022 | Read moreThis research builds on the Family Violence Experts by Experience Framework, aiming to embed victim–survivors’ lived experiences in the family violence service sector, exploring how these can be integrated into family violence work.
Cultivating lived wisdom: Translating experience to expertise | Regional Family Violence Partnership, 2024 | Read moreA report reviewing up to five years of consumer and lived experience participation training programs; national and international contemporary lived experience participation training in the family violence sector; national social services and health consumer participation practice; evidence-informed public facing documents; and interviews with current local providers of lived experience participation training.
Crossing the line: Lived experience of sexual violence among trans women of colour from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia: Key findings and future directions | ANROWS, 2022 | Read moreAn edited summary of key findings from ANROWS research Crossing the line: Lived experience of sexual violence among trans women of colour from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia.
Practice guides and frameworks
Co-designing the foundations for a client outcomes framework for specialist family violence services | Think Impact, 2022 | Read moreThis framework aims to enhance specialist family violence services, encouraging survivor advocates to influence policy development, service planning and practice.
The Family Violence Experts by Experience Framework | The University of Melbourne | Read moreThis framework aims to enhance specialist family violence services, through engaging the experience and insights of survivor advocates in policy development, service planning, and practice. The framework aims to support survivor advocates and organisations become ready to engage in collaborative work.
Family Safety Advocate practice guidance | No to Violence and Family Safety Victoria, 2021 | Read moreThe purpose of this Practice Guidance is to support Victorian Family Safety Advocates (FSAs), including their managers and supervisors, to align to the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework and its associated victim–survivor practice guides.
Top
Program evaluations
Examples of program evaluations and promising research on approaches to address and mitigate the effects of family violence and sexual violence.
Evaluation of the FV Refuge to Recovery for LGBTIQA+ People | Refuge Victoria, Thorne Harbour Health & Switchboard, 2025 | Read moreThis evaluation report assesses the effectiveness of a program aimed at reducing barriers for LGBTIQA+ victim survivors in accessing mainstream FV services.
Youth + LGBTIQ Specialist Family Violence Therapeutic Arts | Family Access Network, 2024 | Read moreThis program evaluation report by Caz McLean evaluates the Creative Art Therapy (CAT) Program by Family Access Network (FAN), which provides therapeutic support to LGBTIQA+ young people and pregnant/parenting young people impacted by family violence and homelessness.
What works? A qualitative exploration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing programs that respond to family violence | ANROWS, 2024 | Read moreThis project aimed to determine “what works” in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing programs from the perspectives of the people who deliver, use and are impacted by those programs.
Online perpetrator interventions | NTV, 2024 | Read moreThis discussion paper on the latest online Men’s Behaviour Change Programs is informed by interviews with practitioners, conversations with No to Violence members and review of existing literature
The REACH Project | University of Melbourne, SAS Vic & Women with Disabilities Vic | 2024 | Read moreInformed and guided by people with lived experience of sexual assault, this project focused on better understanding of what helps people to recover and heal after sexual violence.
Let’s talk about sex | MGFVPC, 2023 | Read moreThis paper examines practitioners’ views on intimate partner sexual violence in intervention programs and offers recommendations to improve identification, assessment and response.
Prioritising women’s safety in Australian perpetrator interventions | ANROWS, 2020 | Read moreThe growing focus on perpetrator accountability and prioritising the safety of women and children has led to Men’s Behaviour Change Programs (MBCPs) becoming the main intervention for perpetrators in Australia. This project examines partner contact practices with a focus on enhancing safety for women and children.
Pride in Prevention evidence guide | Rainbow Health Australia, 2020 | Read moreSummarises the current available evidence on the drivers of family violence experienced by LGBTIQ communities
Men’s behaviour change programs: Measuring outcomes and improving program quality | ANROWS, 2019 | Read more This research aimed to identify how to improve the quality of Men’s Behaviour Change Programs (MBCPs), how to measure outcomes and how to develop standards and accreditation processes that will improve quality and consistency of practice.
Children and mothers in mind | Kids First, 2019 | Read moreChildren and Mothers in Mind (CMiM)was an Australian-first program designed for mothers and children under four years, who have experienced trauma such as family violence, childhood abuse or sexual assault.
Or maybe there’s a key piece missing. If you’d like to share with us, click the button below to get in contact.
Back to the FVSV Knowledge Hub
Information provided on this Family Violence Sexual Violence Knowledge Hub is curated to be the most recent and relevant available. The content is continually being developed and will be regularly updated to reflect the latest insights and best practices. While we strive to maintain the accuracy and timeliness of the information, we encourage users to check back frequently for new and refreshed materials.
