A new report by Southern Cross University highlights what children in Victoria who have experienced family violence need to support their recovery, while exposing systemic barriers to effectively support children as victim-survivors in their own right.
The Children's Voices for Change report lays bare Victoria's ongoing systemic barriers to supporting children as victim-survivors in their own right. In particular an insufficiently resourced specialist family violence service system; and family court orders requiring children to spend time with the person using violence.
In conjunction with the report, a CHANGE Children's Feedback Tool has been developed for use by services that support children who have experienced family violence.
Funded by the Victorian Government through Family Safety Victoria, the Children's Voices for Change project was led by Dr Georgina Dimopoulos of Southern Cross University in partnership with Safe and Equal, and the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare.
The project analysed client data from The Orange Door to understand children's family violence service system pathways; surveyed 320 Victorian practitioners who provide services to children who have experienced family violence; engaged with 23 children and young people who have accessed family violence support services in Victoria; and co-created a Children's Feedback Tool with children and practitioners.
There are major gaps in understanding whether and how services in Victoria are meeting children's family violence response and recovery needs. Yet the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 identifies the need to 'recognise children and young people as victim-survivors of violence in their own right, and establish appropriate supports and services that will meet their safety and recovery needs'.
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'Listen to kids because we don't make this stuff up'
Dr Georgina Dimopoulos of Southern Cross University who led the study said the findings highlight the need for services to engage directly with children to understand their distinct experiences and needs.
"There is no 'one size fits all' for supporting children who have experienced family violence. Children don't always have the same needs as their parent or carer or their siblings. Children have repeatedly told us that they want services to listen to them, to understand them, and to ask them what they need to be safe," said Dr Dimopoulos.
"As one young person put it, 'Listen to kids because we don't make this stuff up'."
The findings reinforce the overwhelming importance for children of connection, trust and loving relationships with family, friends and pets, as well as physical safety, housing stability and financial security, to enable them to heal from family violence.
"Children's safety is complex and dynamic. It extends beyond physical security – like locks on doors and a guard dog, to emotional, psychological and financial wellbeing – such as help with going to school and mum having a job," Dr Dimopoulos said.
The project findings show that seeking feedback from children about their service experience is not common practice in Victoria, with less than half of practitioners (46%) indicating that their service does so. Victoria's Child Safe Standards outline the actions organisations must take to keep children safe, including minimum requirements that 'children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously' (Child Safe Standard 3) and that 'processes for complaints and concerns are child focused' (Child Safe Standard 7). Practitioners also revealed that where children do provide feedback, it is often through their parent, carer or caseworker.
System gaps failing children
Ongoing systemic barriers to supporting children as victim-survivors in their own right in Victoria exposed in the study include:
- An insufficiently resourced specialist family violence service system, with long wait times for children to access services, staff shortages, high staff turnover, and a lack of specialised programs for children;
- Family court orders requiring children to spend time with the person using violence;
- The need for consent from both parents for children to engage with services, which can be used to prevent children's access to support as a form of control and ongoing abuse;
- Services not collaborating and communicating effectively to ensure that important risk information about children is shared and acted upon;
- Deficiency of practitioner skills and training, with 46% of practitioners indicating that they felt ill-equipped to support children because they lacked the skills, experience or confidence.
"Our research shows that practitioners are doing their best to support children who have experienced family violence, within a system that still treats children as invisible, silent victims," Dr Dimopoulos said.
Project partner Safe and Equal is the peak body for Victorian organisations that specialise in family and gender-based violence across the continuum, including primary prevention, early intervention, response and recovery.
Tania Farha, Safe and Equal CEO, said:
"This research confirms what we've heard in a lot of different spaces, from young people who generously and tirelessly offer their insights and perspectives, and from practitioners who go above and beyond to try and centre children's rights within a system that continues to fail them. Big gaps persist in our system's response to children's experiences of family violence.
"Importantly, these findings reiterate the critical necessity that services and systems must listen to, hear and understand children and young people in order to improve their access to and engagement with services."
Project partner the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare is the peak body for child and family services in Victoria.
Deb Tsorbaris, CEO of the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, said:
"This research highlights the importance of listening to children and of making sure they have meaningful opportunities to help shape our service systems. They need to be visible, to be heard, and to be at the heart of our service response."
Children share negative experiences with Victoria Police
Multiple children and young people recounted their experiences with Victoria Police. These include instances where:
- police had seemingly 'sided' with the person using violence;
- children and young people were perceived to be lying about their experiences of family violence;
- police had failed to respond adequately to their situation;
- police actions undermined their safety.
Oliver*, aged 15, suggested that police be removed from service responses to children and young people who have experienced family violence. He said:
"I'd like to see police kept away until services have dealt with all victims and have services advocate for victims with police so that we don't have to deal with police or be interviewed unsupported the way we were. I was assumed to be a liar by police and when our perpetrator was convicted, no one apologised about that."
*not his real name
