This means that our Fast Track Professional Development Program, piloted in 2019, will now be expanded in 2020 enabling us to provide more opportunities to build the knowledge and skill capabilities of professionals wanting to move into specialist family violence leadership roles.

So, why is upskilling the workforce and our Fast Track Program so crucial?

If we are to make in-roads to reducing the prevalence of family violence and other forms of violence against women, we need skilled practitioners in key roles to have the ability to design and implement programs that address the root causes and contributing factors underpinning this violence. Similarly, in order to operate an effective system designed to prevent and respond to family violence and violence against women, it is crucial that appropriately skilled workforces are in place to meet the challenges we face.

Fast tracking the up-skilling of our current workforce with the capabilities to support systems implementation and service delivery, and ensuring the supply of prevention practitioners with the capability to work across settings, with specific populations, and across the general community is therefore critical.

Our Fast Track Pilot Program

Piloted in 2019 and funded by Family Safety Victoria (FSV), our program was designed to fast track the supply of knowledgeable and skilled Tier 1 senior level practitioners to take up urgently needed specialist family violence management and leadership roles. The program was conducted over a three month period and involved ten face to face sessions, coaching and mentoring, workplace experience and a community of practice. Workshops were structured around leadership and management skills as outlined in FSV’s family violence Capability Frameworks and included topics such as managing risk, leading systems and quality services, advocacy and reform.

Read a summary of our evaluation findings.

Moving Fast Track in the future

With confirmation of further investment and learnings from our pilot program taken on board, a new iteration of the program has been developed and will expand in 2020. This means more opportunities to diversify the program for delivery to wider audiences over a two-year period. We look forward to sharing more details about what our new and invigorated program looks like and how to become a part of it.

Respect Victoria is the first agency solely devoted to preventing family violence and violence against women in Victoria. What are the priorities for this exciting new statutory authority?

Tracey Gaudry: Primary prevention is our number one priority – that is, to prevent all forms of family violence and violence against women before it starts. With the recent launch of our four-year strategic plan on 29 March, we’re aware that a change of this magnitude can take generations to achieve, but we’re in it for the long haul and more than that, we’re hopeful that our vison will be realised – that all people are safe, equal and respected, and free from all forms of family violence and violence against women. By coordinating and galvanising the prevention efforts that have come before Respect Victoria, a key part of our work is educating the community about the drivers of family violence. Most notably, helping people understand the role gender inequality plays in perpetuating the attitudes and social norms that have contributed to a culture where family violence remains hidden, and in many cases, often until it’s too late.

Family violence is an incredibly complicated issue, and many people see it as the consequence of an unhealthy relationship. As we know, there’s victim blaming and a whole host of blinkered attitudes that can prevent people from absorbing the bigger picture, and that can include discrimination based upon sex, gender and race. We’re committed to bringing the community at large along the prevention journey. We’ll do this by using evidence-informed research, lived experiences and the proven societal benefits of respect and equality to demonstrate how men, women, young people, everyone can contribute to making Victoria a safer, more equitable place to live.

How does Respect Victoria differ from Our Watch?

Patty Kinnersly: A really important key difference between these two agencies is that Respect Victoria is devoted to preventing family violence and violence against women. Our Watch was established in 2013 to drive nationwide change in the structures, norms and practices that underpin violence against women. Whilst there is significant overlap, Respect Victoria has a broader remit.

The other key difference is that Our Watch has national responsibility and works with state and territory governments (including Victoria) and receives funding from almost all state and territory governments.

What possibilities does Respect Victoria bring for Victoria’s prevention sector?

Tracey Gaudry: The possibilities for Respect Victoria are endless. As a new statutory authority, we’re on a steep establishment and development curve. Our focus is to cultivate relationships with leaders in primary prevention, to consult widely and build our research arm. In the six months since Respect Victoria’s inception, we have been thrilled with the results of our flagship ‘Call It Out’ campaign, and more recently, the response to Respect Victoria’s first strategic plan.

While there is some research into the attitudes, practices and power relations that drive family violence, there is still a lot to be done, and Respect Victoria aims to fill this gap with the support of government, our colleagues and partners. We’ll be engaging with workplaces, industry, sport, the arts, media, community organisations and others. Respect Victoria will also undertake and disseminate research into the drivers of all forms of family violence and violence against women. Using this research, we’ll be developing and promoting best practice primary prevention for government, industry, organisations and communities, and we’ll be providing advice about what programs work and where investment should be placed.

Informed by research and evidence, we’ll be leading social marketing campaigns and engaging with stakeholders across multiple sectors to build a culture of respect for all Victorians.

Patty Kinnersly: Addressing the underlying drivers of violence against women and family violence is an enormous task, the more hands and minds dedicated to that task, the closer we will be to a future where women and children can live without fear of violence.

Respect Victoria will also provide a central leadership organisation for Victoria that will provide clarity about what’s needed for prevention work, give good advice to government, and advance important work to advance knowledge about the drivers of family violence (broader than gendered violence against women).

Victoria’s decision to invest both in its work with Our Watch and in establishing Respect Victoria shows that this state is genuinely committed to ending violence against women and their children, and demonstrates an appreciation of the fact that addressing gender inequality is the only true long-term solution to this terrible problem.

This article features in the April 2019 edition of DVRCV Advocate.

We’re about halfway through the Family Violence Rolling Action Plan 2017–­2020, how do you think the sector reform is tracking towards achieving the stated outcomes?

Minister Williams:

The sector should feel very proud of the work already done. Creating sustained, long-term and systemic reform is extremely challenging.

Our commitment to prevent family violence is enshrined in legislation through the establishment of Respect Victoria. We have rolled out five of the Orange Doors – providing a single entry point for victim survivors of family violence – and intend to have the remaining 12 operational by 2021.

We are driving an understanding of the link between gender inequality and family violence through our mass behaviour change campaigns. The second of these, Respect Women – Call it Out, has reached 5.2 million Victorians.

Emily Maguire:

Given the scale of the task and the depth of change, I think the reforms are tracking quite well across the state. The level of commitment we have around ending family violence across politics, the public and a wide range of sectors involved in these reforms is truly staggering; if we can maintain this commitment, I believe we will over time see the vision of the Royal Commission realised.

I think we’ve made progress in a lot of areas – we have strong new cross-sectoral partnerships, new prevention work is taking place across the state and more agencies than ever are seeing family violence as their core business – but as with any large-scale reform there is still lots more to do.

In the coming years it will be important to take stock of what we have achieved and learnt, and to think about what we should continue, what is still missing and what we need to improve or shift to ensure the best outcomes for women and children living with family violence.

What do you think some of the major challenges are in the reform journey over the coming years?

Minister Williams:

One of the hardest parts of reform like this is the time it takes – to not only build a system that creates behavioural change, but to see this flow through to results, in declining incidents of family violence.

It will take at least 10 years, if not more – but we know it can be done. Changes in attitudes toward drink driving took more than 20 years of sustained effort to achieve, but now they are entrenched in our lives.

Emily Maguire:

With any change comes challenges; the more we understand about what these are, the more we can plan and work together to address them.

Some of the challenges are about the people and the organisations doing the work; maintaining the pace and level of work required in a reform environment, increasing the pool of skilled prevention and response practitioners to do this work, and finding a balance between engaging with long-term reforms and maintaining the day-to-day work of organisations are joint challenges we all face.

Other challenges are more structural or theoretical; trying to coordinate a reform this complex and nuanced; bringing together differing theoretical frameworks and ensuring that the needs of women, young people, children and men are addressed in the intersections of these frameworks, and ensuring that every piece of work remains true to the intent and vision of the Royal Commission.

Whilst the challenges are significant, the depth of commitment from everyone involved will mean we can continue to work through these challenges as the reforms progress.

What is most inspiring or exciting about your work and/or the reform journey at the moment?

Minister Williams:

The most inspiring part of the work for me is how those with lived experience of family violence are guiding these reforms and how incredibly resilient they are.

Working with the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council – set up by government in 2014 and chaired by Rosie Batty – is an absolute privilege, and the Council’s direct advice to government has been crucial to our progress so far.

It’s also exciting to help shape a global movement of change. We in Victoria are leading the world with this work.

Still so far to go – but never forget the big steps forward that are already taking us on that journey.

Emily Maguire:

There are three things in particular that help keep me inspired in my work.

The first is the opportunity to be a part of once-in-a-lifetime change for an issue I care so passionately about.

The second is the people I work with – the team at DVRCV, my colleagues across the not-for-profit sector and government alike – all of us have different roles, but the passion, intelligence and commitment of the people I work alongside is inspiring.

And the third is the victim survivors who, I hope, will be the ultimate beneficiaries of these reforms. Being a part of creating a world where women and their children are safe, and where all people are able to engage in healthy and respectful relationships, is what drives so many of us in this sector.

This article features in the April 2019 edition of DVRCV Advocate.

Tell us about your role in AOD services in the western metropolitan catchments.

The Specialist Family Violence Advisor program was established in response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence to build capacity through improving early identification and intervention to family violence by the AOD and mental health sectors. The program aims to strengthen inter-sector and cross-service coordination and collaboration, moving towards integrated and consistent responses to family violence.

What needs to be considered in the AOD context for Specialist Family Violence Advisors?

The AOD sector responds both to those experiencing and using family violence.

There is scope to consider the potential barriers for women attending AOD services, as currently the majority of clients accessing AOD services are men. Western Health – Drug Health Services have a women-specific AOD day rehabilitation program which includes addressing family violence. However, many AOD clients who have partners using violence may not be accessing specialist family violence services out of fear that their help-seeking might be used against them, both by the perpetrator and by the service system.

The large number of men accessing AOD services also provides an opportunity to further develop understandings and leadership within the AOD sector, particularly regarding developing non-collusive practice in how to raise respectful accountability questions with those who perpetrate violence.

Cross-sector collaboration can also provide an important opportunity to bring AOD and mental health knowledge back into the family violence sector, improving access and support to those who also have AOD and mental health needs. Coordinated and systemic partnerships are integral to building comprehensive risk assessment and interventions.

What are the challenges and opportunities working as a family violence specialist in the AOD sector?

Building collaboration across the sectors will require deconstructing past siloed approaches that may have existed across specialist sectors. This cross-sector work also brings opportunities to improve responses, skills and understanding of family violence for all sectors, including family violence, AOD and mental health. At a systemic macro level, this includes opportunities to improve referral pathways, develop secondary consultation systems, and offer co-case management. Developing skills and practices to avoid collusion and improving respectful responses with those who use violence creates interventions that generate individual and community accountability. Improving these responses would also assist in prioritising the safety of families who are experiencing family violence.

Another important opportunity is engagement with criminalised women, who are often identified as being ‘high risk of lethality’ through the RAMP specialist family violence program, and AOD services may be the only supports they are actively engaged with.

What are the benefits of having specialist practitioners in organisations outside the family violence sector?

Being located in an AOD organisation external to the family violence sector facilitates incidental family violence consultations and the establishment of secondary consultation systems. My attendance at AOD clinical reviews and team meetings prompts a focus on family violence, providing opportunities for practitioners to develop a family violence lens and increasing their capacity to identify family violence risk, navigate referral pathways and undertake safety planning.

Another significant benefit is the opportunity to identify AOD practitioners who have an interest in and commitment to addressing family violence. Mentoring opportunities can be developed for those practitioners, and their involvement and expertise utilised to establish capacity-building activities within their teams/services. This can help to effect systemic change and build capacity to support improved responses to family violence.

If you could improve the way that Specialist Family Violence Advisors work in other services, what would you do?

It seems essential to me that Phase 2 of the AOD and mental health Specialist Family Violence Advisor program has a coordination infrastructure across Victoria. Encouraging the sharing of information and strategies amongst advisors would facilitate the systemic changes that advisors have been tasked to implement, including breaking down barriers and bridging identified gaps in service and sector responses across the family violence, AOD and mental health sectors.

This article features in the April 2019 edition of DVRCV Advocate.