Strengthening Australia's Domestic and Family Violence Workforce . This project aims to generate an evidence base on the nature of domestic and family violence (DFV) work and the implications for the DFV workforce across victim, perpetrator and Aboriginal specialist services. Using the innovative method of rapid ethnography, this project expects to provide a comparative understanding of DFV work and workforce practices and requirements. Expected outcomes include workforce development strategies ....Strengthening Australia's Domestic and Family Violence Workforce . This project aims to generate an evidence base on the nature of domestic and family violence (DFV) work and the implications for the DFV workforce across victim, perpetrator and Aboriginal specialist services. Using the innovative method of rapid ethnography, this project expects to provide a comparative understanding of DFV work and workforce practices and requirements. Expected outcomes include workforce development strategies that are responsive to the context and needs of DFV work. Given the high social, health and economic costs of DFV, investing in the DFV workforce has national benefits including improved services and better client and worker wellbeing.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100391
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$418,228.00
Summary
Reducing Gendered Harm in Involuntary Mental Health Service Provision. Involuntary mental health treatment is often traumatising, with women reporting additional gendered dimensions of harm. Using an action research framework that draws upon the voices of service users, families and professionals, this study aims to develop improved strategies for responding to acute mental distress in women, with a focus on reducing coercion. Expected outcomes include enhanced understandings of the experiences ....Reducing Gendered Harm in Involuntary Mental Health Service Provision. Involuntary mental health treatment is often traumatising, with women reporting additional gendered dimensions of harm. Using an action research framework that draws upon the voices of service users, families and professionals, this study aims to develop improved strategies for responding to acute mental distress in women, with a focus on reducing coercion. Expected outcomes include enhanced understandings of the experiences and impacts of compulsory mental health treatment on women and a co-designed online resource that will support the development of effective, realistic and non-coercive practices in frontline mental healthcare. The project will provide substantial benefits to mental health reform at a national and international level.Read moreRead less
Religion and domestic violence: exploring men’s perpetration. The project will generate new knowledge about how religious beliefs and practices are used by men to perpetrate domestic violence. Using a qualitative design this project will gain insights into how churches understand and respond to domestic violence; and identify and analyse the perpetration of spiritual abuse as a form of domestic violence. The significant innovation and benefit is interviewing Australian men about their understand ....Religion and domestic violence: exploring men’s perpetration. The project will generate new knowledge about how religious beliefs and practices are used by men to perpetrate domestic violence. Using a qualitative design this project will gain insights into how churches understand and respond to domestic violence; and identify and analyse the perpetration of spiritual abuse as a form of domestic violence. The significant innovation and benefit is interviewing Australian men about their understandings and use of violence through an ecclesiastical lens. The outcomes will enhance the knowledge base of domestic violence theory, serving as a platform to develop more effective policies and practice inside and outside religious settings to prevent domestic violence. Read moreRead less
Farming 4 Care: Using nature to cultivate resilience in young people. This project aims to explore how passive and active engagement with nature might influence outcomes for young people who have experienced trauma, maltreatment and disrupted families. These people are extremely vulnerable, but often slip through the system. As they rarely engage in traditional therapy, non-traditional interventions may offer a viable alternative that should be explored and harnessed for this population. In addi ....Farming 4 Care: Using nature to cultivate resilience in young people. This project aims to explore how passive and active engagement with nature might influence outcomes for young people who have experienced trauma, maltreatment and disrupted families. These people are extremely vulnerable, but often slip through the system. As they rarely engage in traditional therapy, non-traditional interventions may offer a viable alternative that should be explored and harnessed for this population. In addition, traditional interventions are delivered at enormous cost and with minimal success for this group. Using an innovative multidisciplinary design, the project plans to test four hypotheses about nature engagement to contribute to the growing field of nature-based interventions. Our approach offers an alternative that draws on existing community resources and benefits local organisations, young people and farmers.Read moreRead less
Developing child-centred family and community practice: Listening to boys aged 9-12 with behaviour problems about their social contexts and needs. Children's and family services seek to reduce risks to children and ensure their well-being through holistic, strengths-based, collaborative family and community practice. Yet services remain adult-centric; children are often seen as recipients rather than informants, as targets rather than shapers of change. This study with Anglicare Victoria will ex ....Developing child-centred family and community practice: Listening to boys aged 9-12 with behaviour problems about their social contexts and needs. Children's and family services seek to reduce risks to children and ensure their well-being through holistic, strengths-based, collaborative family and community practice. Yet services remain adult-centric; children are often seen as recipients rather than informants, as targets rather than shapers of change. This study with Anglicare Victoria will examine the contexts, content and effects of professional responses to boys aged 9-12 years with challenging, aggressive behaviour, chiefly through the voices of the boys themselves. Adapting participatory enquiry methods for an unusually young and troubled population, the study aims to better understand their experiences and also to demonstrate opportunities and methods for enhancing children's participation.Read moreRead less
Researching an all-of-family program in family violence & substance misuse. Family violence services and drug and alcohol services have been inappropriately siloed given co-occurrence of these problems is common. This project aims to evaluate an innovative program which integrates these services, focuses on fathering to ensure recognition of the needs of children (50% of family violence victims) and provides all-of-family support to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children. Expect ....Researching an all-of-family program in family violence & substance misuse. Family violence services and drug and alcohol services have been inappropriately siloed given co-occurrence of these problems is common. This project aims to evaluate an innovative program which integrates these services, focuses on fathering to ensure recognition of the needs of children (50% of family violence victims) and provides all-of-family support to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children. Expected outcomes include better evidence for countering family violence, and policy frameworks for integrated service provision. Changing the behaviour of men who use violence is a significant social challenge and the outcomes of this targeted approach should have ramifications nationally and internationally. Read moreRead less
How to do more and be more with less? Exploring Paucity Management strategies for resource poor community organisations in NSW. The research will examine the managerial strengths community organisations have developed and specialised to survive and strive under conditions of financial hardship. The aim is to develop a set of management strategies whereby organisations can do better with fewer resources. The concept of 'Paucity Management' will be tested to examine how community organisations can ....How to do more and be more with less? Exploring Paucity Management strategies for resource poor community organisations in NSW. The research will examine the managerial strengths community organisations have developed and specialised to survive and strive under conditions of financial hardship. The aim is to develop a set of management strategies whereby organisations can do better with fewer resources. The concept of 'Paucity Management' will be tested to examine how community organisations can operate with greater efficiency and ethically under such conditions.Read moreRead less
Young people bereaved by domestic homicide. Far-reaching decisions are made about the future of a child bereaved by domestic homicide, including where they should live and whether they should have contact with the perpetrator. Practitioners and policymakers lack empirical and theoretical input to guide these decisions. This fellowship draws upon young people's, caregivers' and professionals' perspectives on children's living arrangements, relationships and identity development post-homicide. It ....Young people bereaved by domestic homicide. Far-reaching decisions are made about the future of a child bereaved by domestic homicide, including where they should live and whether they should have contact with the perpetrator. Practitioners and policymakers lack empirical and theoretical input to guide these decisions. This fellowship draws upon young people's, caregivers' and professionals' perspectives on children's living arrangements, relationships and identity development post-homicide. It expects to generate a theoretical model of children's outcomes as well as actionable advice for policymakers and practitioners. The main benefit will be enhanced capacity to support children, families and professionals in the context of domestic homicide in Australia and abroad. Read moreRead less
Attracting and Retaining Practitioners in Child and Family Services in Rural Queensland: Generating a Model for Improved Practice. This study examines the problem of recruitment and retention of practitioners working in child and family welfare in rural Queensland. The study has two phases: first to determine the views and experiences of final year social work and human services students about rural practice and second to explore issues for existing child and family practitioners in rural commun ....Attracting and Retaining Practitioners in Child and Family Services in Rural Queensland: Generating a Model for Improved Practice. This study examines the problem of recruitment and retention of practitioners working in child and family welfare in rural Queensland. The study has two phases: first to determine the views and experiences of final year social work and human services students about rural practice and second to explore issues for existing child and family practitioners in rural communities. The study seeks to generate strategies to increase recruitment and retention rates to these positions and to develop a theory of child and family rural practice.Read moreRead less
Reducing recurrence in the child protection system. The project examines the factors associated with once-only and repeated notifications of child abuse and neglect. It is important that early intervention services for vulnerable children are targeted to ensure an evidence-based match between child and family needs and services.