Working in
family violence

The history, organisations, settings and challenges that make up Victoria’s prevention of family and gender-based violence sector.

Primary prevention initiatives target the whole population in a range of settings, including workplaces, schools, universities, sport and recreation clubs, public spaces, the media, and health and community services.

What to say and do to support a colleague, student or client if they disclose an experience of family violence or sexual assault.

Tools for understanding and planning for different types of resistance in work to promote gender equality and prevent violence against women.

Guidance on monitoring progress in primary prevention on a population and project level.

Understand the signs of family violence and what your professional responsibilities may be in recognising and responding to family violence.

Information for professionals on how to refer a client experiencing (or at risk of) family violence to a specialist service.

What specialist family violence practitioners and other professionals need to know about identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk.

The Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme and Child Information Sharing Scheme help Victorian services work together to keep victim survivors safe.

Supported by Safe and Equal, key local services form a Risk Assessment and Management Panel (RAMP) to assess and address the highest risk cases of family violence.

People experiencing family violence come into contact with every part of the human service system. There are a broad range of services and sectors that have responsibilities to prevent, recognise and respond to safety risks as well as promote perpetrator accountability.

Specialist family violence services provide crisis responses and case management to victim survivors of family violence.

The Code of Practice: Principles and Standards for Specialist Family Violence Services for Victim Survivors (the Code) articulates a set of principles and standards to guide consistent, quality service provision for victim survivors accessing specialist family violence services in Victoria.

Convened by a Family Violence Principal Strategic Advisor, these committees drive greater integration of regional family violence responses.

Find out where to go for support and referral if you encounter someone in your work who may be using family violence.

Aboriginal definition of family violence, self-determination and responding to family violence and Aboriginal family violence services in Victoria.

Frameworks and guidelines that specialist family violence services in Victoria should be aware of and use as part of their service provision.

The Experts by Experience framework aims to enhance the ability of specialist family violence services to provide opportunities for survivor advocates to influence policy development, service planning and practice.

This practice guidance has been prepared by Djirra for family violence workers who are responding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing family violence.

Children and young people can be both directly and indirectly affected by family violence. It’s important to recognise children and young people as victim survivors in their own right, not extensions of their parents, or ‘secondary victims’ of family violence.

Information, tips, tools and resources for specialist family violence practitioners to help support positive change and break down barriers to accessing services for people with disability.

Victim survivors from culturally, linguistically, and faith-diverse communities in Australia, which includes people from migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking backgrounds, experience the same forms of family violence as the broader community.

People of all genders, sex and sexual orientations can experience family violence. Many experiences of family violence among LGBTIQA+ communities mirror those within heterosexual and cisgendered relationships.

If you are supporting someone who is older or lives with an older person, it is vital you can recognise elder abuse and respond appropriately. Elder abuse is a form of family violence and can include acts of psychological, financial, cultural, verbal, social, spiritual, sexual, and physical abuse and neglect.

Victim survivors who have been criminalised experience high rates of family violence and trauma, and the severity and impacts of this violence and trauma can be significant.

If you’re a family violence worker, learn how to recognise the signs and symptoms of vicarious trauma and burnout.

How to provide a safe working environment for specialist family violence practitioners.

If you’re an employer, learn how to safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of workers during emergencies, such as bushfires or pandemic.

There are steps you can take to prioritise and protect your health and wellbeing when working in the family violence sector.