Family and domestic violence (FDV)

About the pathway

Welcome to the Family and domestic (FDV) learning pathway. This pathway is for all practitioners working with adults, whether as a generalist practitioner or as an AOD specialist.

Family and domestic violence (FDV) is one of the most common social issues in Australia right now. Research shows 1 in 6 women over 15 years of age has experienced physical of sexual violence at the hands of a partner, while 1 in 4 has experienced emotional abuse.¹ These rates are even higher among LGBTQIA+ and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.^2,3 In addition, 68% of women whose current partners were violent and 50% who had experienced violence by a previous partner said their children had witnessed the violence.¹

This means that many of the adults and children you work with have likely been affected by FDV in some way – not to mention that children do not even need to witness violence directly to be impacted by it. Without support, the effects of violence can cause long-lasting harm to children’s health, development and wellbeing. But these negative outcomes are not inevitable.

This learning pathway is designed to support all practitioners to better understand how violence affects children’s physical and mental health, and the signs that a child or parent might need help. They offer a conversation guide to help you to ask about a parent’s experience of violence safely and sensitively, and how the violence may be affecting their child’s wellbeing.

The earlier family violence can be identified and addressed, the better. The courses in this pathway aim to build your confidence in having these sometimes-difficult conversations, to give children and parents the best chance of recovery.

Learning outcomes

As you progress through this learning pathway you will build your understanding and skills across a range of key areas, including:

the nature and prevalence of family and domestic violence in Australia
a view of family and domestic violence that enables child-aware approaches
the impact of family and domestic violence on children
understanding the importance of identifying and responding to issues of FDV in ways that prevent immediate and long-term consequences for children’s social and emotional wellbeing
taking an intersectional approach when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experiencing family violence
each Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community is unique, with its own norms, practices and healing strategies, there is a need to engage local cultural specialists and organisations for guidance and direction in their work with families experiencing family violence.

This pathway will enable you to support both mothers and fathers to:

consider the impacts of FDV on their children
lessen these impacts in order to support their children’s safety and social and emotional wellbeing • be curious about the social and emotional wellbeing of their children by using the PERCS Conversation Guide and parent engagement principles
continue working on their presenting issue (other than violence) while acknowledging the context of FDV and its effects on the various domains of their children’s lives.

This pathway will also help you to be mindful of conducting these conversations without:

compromising the safety of women and children subjected to FDV
reinforcing mother-blame or shame
diminishing men’s responsibility for their use of violence, nor their responsibility to act in safe and respectful ways towards women and children
jeopardising parents’ engagement with your service.

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2017). Personal Safety Survey 2016 (ABS Cat. No. 4906.0). Canberra: ABS.
Hill, A., Bourne, A., McNair, R., Carman, M., & Lyons, A. (2021). Private Lives 3: The health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ people in Australia (Version 1). Melbourne: La Trobe University.
Our Watch. (2018). Changing the picture: A national resource to support the prevention of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait women and their children. Melbourne: Our Watch.

Courses

The impact of family and domestic violence on the child

1hr

This course provides you with an introduction to the impact of family and domestic violence (FDV) on children.

Family and domestic violence and child-aware practice

4hrs

This course examines opportunities for practitioners to engage in a prevention and early intervention approach to promote children’s mental health and wellbeing in the context of family and domestic violence (FDV).

Honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in healing family violence

1hr 30mins

The course will help you to think about the whole family – their hopes, aspirations, strengths and stories of connections to family, kinship, Country and culture – as well as family histories of problems, challenges and trauma.