Researching collaborative processes in domestic violence perpetrator programs : Benchmarking for situation improvement
- Authors: Diemer, Kristin , Humphreys, Cathy , Laming, Christopher , Smith, Joanie
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Social Work Vol. 15, no. 1 (2013), p. 65-86
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- Description: ∙ Summary: This article reports on research undertaken in Victoria, Australia with workers from men’s behavior change programs (perpetrator programs) to explore the extent of the collaborative processes established with police, child protection, and other human service organizations. It poses the question: how do regional collaborative arrangements and the pathways to referral reflect the responsiveness of men’s behavior change programs to domestic violence service integration? It builds on a strand of research highlighting the significance of the wider domestic violence intervention system in holding men who use violence accountable. ∙ Findings: A research tool was designed around a Practice Matrix to outline different dimensions against which expectations of collaboration could be benchmarked in men’s behavior change programs. It was found that at this early stage within the domestic violence reform process in Victoria that the integration of programs within the wider domestic violence sector was relatively undeveloped. The feedback loops between agencies, which enable reporting on attendance, breaches of intervention orders, changes to the risk assessment, and progress at formal review points were relatively undeveloped. However, the formal engagement within domestic violence regional committees and with police was more developed. ∙ Application: Social workers, particularly in the vulnerable children’s area provide referrals to men’s behavior change programs. Active involvement in feedback, risk assessment review, monitoring for change support the accountability and collaborative effort required to strengthen the effectiveness of men’s behavior change and enhance the safety of women and their children. © The Author(s) 2013.
Child protection and fathering where there is domestic violence : Contradictions and consequences
- Authors: Smith, Joanie , Humphreys, Cathy
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Child & Family Social Work Vol. 24, no. 1 (2019), p. 156-163
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- Description: Children live in different contexts of protection and vulnerability when exposed to domestic violence. The negative impacts for many children are consistent and widely acknowledged. However, the implication that this requires men who use violence to address their fathering has been slower to emerge. This article draws from 69 in-depth qualitative interviews with men, women, and workers across four men's behaviour change programmes in rural Victoria, Australia. Particular attention is given to men's attitudes to their fathering and the formal and informal consequences they experienced as a result of their violence and its impact on their fathering. Although most men came to recognize that their violence impacted their children, they failed to make the connection that the involvement of statutory child protection services in their lives was a direct consequence of their abusive behaviour. This article explores this disconnection by fathers who use violence, their attitude to the involvement of statutory child protection services, and identifies the implications for social work practitioners in addressing this issue.
Safe at home? Housing decisions for women leaving family violence
- Authors: Diemer, Kristin , Humphreys, Cathy , Crinall, Karen
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Social Issues Vol. 52, no. 1 (2017), p. 32-47
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- Description: Internationally, domestic violence policy has shifted towards supporting women to stay at home with the perpetrator of violence excluded. However, the practical realities indicate that this is a complex arena in which the rhetoric of rights for "women and children to stay in their own home" needs to be underpinned by additional support to provide safety and protection for those choosing this option. The current study examines decision making about accommodation options and the role of civil protection orders among 138 women accessing domestic violence support services in Victoria Australia. It shines a light on the intersection between justice responses and the housing needs of women and their children leaving a violent relationship. Our findings reveal that for this sample of women, staying in their own home left them more open to breaches of intervention orders than those who re-located. In spite of the frequency of breaching, a majority of women believed that they were safer with the protective order in place. We conclude that supporting women to "stay at home" with the perpetrator removed may be a pathway to safety for only a minority of women particularly if support from police and courts is not proactive and reliable. © 2017 Australian Social Policy Association.