Guides: Community Services: Domestic Violence

eBooks

Abused Men (2009) The new edition of Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence offers up-to-date data on the prevalence of intimate partner violence against men, incorporating personal interviews and cases drawn from the media.
The Abusive Personality (2006) This influential book provides an innovative framework for understanding and treating intimate partner violence. Integrating a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, Donald G. Dutton demonstrates that male abusiveness is more than just a learned pattern of behavior--it is the outgrowth of a particular personality configuration. He illuminates the development of the abusive personality from early childhood to adulthood and presents an evidence-based treatment approach designed to meet this population's unique needs. The second edition features two new chapters on the neurobiological roots of abusive behavior and the development of abusiveness in females.
Domestic and family violence (2014) Domestic violence refers to acts of violence that occur between people in an intimate relationship in domestic settings; family violence is a broader term referring to violence between family members as well as violence between intimate partners. These violent acts include physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse. This book reveals the prevalence and causes of domestic and family violence, and explains ways of dealing with domestic abuse. Domestic violence is more than a crime, it is an abuse of power by someone in a position of trust. Are you safe in your own home? Also includes: worksheets and activities, fast facts, glossary, web links, index.
Nowhere to go: The benefits of providing long term social housing to women that have experienced domestic and family violence (2021) Thousands of women are being forced to choose between returning to violent partners or becoming homeless due to a lack of affordable housing. As many as 7,700 women a year in Australia were returning to violent partners and 9,120 women were being forced into homelessness because of a chronic shortage of affordable housing.
Through young black eyes workshop kit (2008) A handbook to protect aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from the impact of family violence and child abuse.
Violence against women (2017) Violence against women is now recognised as a serious, widespread problem. A range of attitudes and beliefs continue to excuse, justify, minimise and hide physical and sexual violence against women. This title details the forms of violence used against women and their children, presenting the latest research on prevalence and attitudes. It also focuses on countering sexual assault and harassment, and explores approaches to dealing with gender-based violence. Also includes: worksheets and activities, fast facts, glossary, web links, index.

Websites

Ask Izzy Ask Izzy is a website that connects people in need with housing, a meal, money help, family violence support, counselling and much more. It is free and anonymous, with over 370,000 services listed across Australia. And if you're on the Telstra or Vodafone mobile networks, you can access Ask Izzy on your phone even if you don't have credit or access to wifi.
Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited, or ANROWS, is a unique research organisation, being one of the only national organisations across the world tasked with building, translating and disseminating the evidence base to inform policy and practice on women’s and children’s safety.
Australian Bureau of Statistics - Directory of Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence Statistics, 2018 The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) Directory of Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence Statistics aims to improve awareness and utilisation of family, domestic, and sexual violence data collected by or on behalf of Australian governments, by providing a single repository of publicly available data sources.
Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse The Clearinghouse is a national organisation, providing high quality information about domestic and family violence issues and practice.
Australian Institute of Family Studies - Family Violence Reports on a number of topics, including parenting in a domestic violence situation,violence in LGBTIQ relationships, fathers who use violence, and elder abuse.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major national health and welfare issue that can have lifelong impacts for victims and perpetrators.
Domestic Violence Advocacy Service Domestic Violence Advocacy Service (DVAS) Central is a free service which helps women who have experienced, or are at risk of domestic violence, access support.
Inclusion and diversity: The foundations of a more effective response to LGBTIQ domestic violence? Speech by Elizabeth Broderick Sex Discrimination Commissioner: LGBTIQ Domestic Violence Conference - 16 September 2011
National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) The NCAS tells us how people understand violence against women, their attitudes towards it, and if there has been a change over time. It also gauges attitudes to gender equality and people’s preparedness to intervene when witnessing abuse or disrespect towards women.
Responding to Family and Domestic Violence
Young, in love and in danger: Responding to conflict and violence in teen partner relationships in Tasmania This research project investigated the experiences of young Tasmanians who had been abused by a partner when under the age of 18. It is the first Tasmanian research of its kind and one of few studies nationally.

Streaming videos

Australian Story: Hell's Angels Perth woman Ann O'Neill suffered an unimaginable loss 24 years ago. Since then she's devoted her life to helping others survive dark times, transforming tragedy into hope to become one of Australia's foremost trauma experts.
Call Me Dad Can a violent man change? Call Me Dad is a story about men who have perpetrated, or are at risk of perpetrating, family violence. At stake is the safety of children and partners, the stability of families, and the power we as a society have to intervene.
Corey White's Roadmap to Paradise: Domestic Violence Having experienced domestic violence as a child, Corey looks at the way that we approach solving this complex issue. Using his own experience, he investigates how to break the cycle of victims becoming offenders.
See What You Made Me Do Episode 1 Jess explores relationships in which 'abuse' evolves in complex and confusing ways. We meet the victim survivors, and the family of victims, who don't recognise the danger of this abuse until it's too late.
See What You Made Me Do Episode 2 The question Jess Hill is asked only too often is: why doesn't she just leave? The question fails to acknowledge that leaving an abusive partner is one of the most dangerous moves a victim survivor can ever make. Sometimes it is too risky - women will make a decision to stay with their abuser, and the abuse, rather than take a punt on his threats of greater harm should she attempt to escape.
See What You Made Me Do Episode 3 Almost three decades ago, Phil Cleary's little sister was murdered by a man she had the temerity to leave. Since then, Phil has watched history repeat itself at the rate of one woman a week in Australia. He believes we must work harder, and more boldly, to make it stop. Jess takes us to the innovations being trialled and implemented across the globe as communities work to reduce rates of abuse and homicide. They include radical ideas which could make a seismic difference in Australia.
See What You Made Me Do Episode 4 Jess Hill joins host Alice Matthews and five other panellists to discuss what solutions Australia can implement right now to stop family violence.

Books in the Library

ABC of Domestic and Sexual Violence (2014) This is a practical guide for all health care professionals who are looking after abused individuals (whether knowingly or not) and who wish to learn more in order to help their patients. It employs a positive and hands on approach, emphasising simple history taking skills and clinical 'tips' and pitfalls to help demystify what is often considered a sensitive or difficult subject area.
Domestic violence advocacy : complex lives/difficult choices (2014) This book introduced a new model of woman defined advocacy that was designed to bridge the gap that sometimes occurs between a battered woman's perspective and a victim's advocate's perception. Created to improve service delivery to women who are victims of domestic violence, this model emphasized placing attention on the victim's assessment of the risk in the violent relationship and on her decision making. The authors aim to help advocates better understand battered women's decisions, including the decision to stay in an abusive relationship, to improve advocacy for victims with various cultural experiences and backgrounds, and to provide advocates with assistance in redesigning their services so they may better meet the needs of battered women. The second edition will be updated to include current research, greater emphasis on working with marginalized populations, an expanded advocacy framework, more emphasis on client strengths and strengths based perspective, and more pedagogical elements will be introduced.
Engaging with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence (2015) This concise book equips practitioners with the knowledge and techniques they need to make the most of limited client contact with perpetrators.
Social work & domestic violence : developing critical & reflective practice (2013) Domestic violence affects all areas of Social Work. This book shows how Social Workers can intervene in everyday practice with victims, their families and perpetrators of domestic abuse. It provides students with knowledge of theory, research and policy to put directly in practice across a variety of legal and service-user contexts. The authors draw on their extensive experience as practitioners and researchers in the field, placing particular focus on evidence-based practice. Topics covered include: Child protection ; Interprofessional collaboration ; The policy and legal context ; Working with women ; Working with men. Each chapter begins with a case study and concludes with reflective questions to highlight practice dilemmas and challenge students to reflect critically. Further reading from a rich range of sources guides readers to expand their knowledge. This book will be valuable reading for students studying domestic violence, child protection, and family social work, as well as practitioners of Social Work.

Articles

16 Days, 16 Stories (Audio) Funded by the State Library of Western Australia, 16 Days, 16 Stories is a courageous new collection of stories presented in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence, recorded by the Centre for Stories as part of its contribution to the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
Catherine's ex was one of few police officers charged with domestic violence, but she'll never get justice When Catherine finally broke down one June morning in 2019 and called police about her cop husband's domestic violence, she was convinced she'd set in motion a murder suicide — that he'd retaliate by killing one of her children, then himself.
Domestic violence was treated by workplaces as personal, now it's a $2b business problem It takes, on average, seven attempts to leave an abusive relationship and about $18,000 and 141 hours to extricate oneself. But what if your employer helped you escape the situation?
Most small businesses feel effects of domestic violence on staff, but are ill-equipped to manage impacts New research shows that more than half of Australian small business owners suspect one of their staff members is experiencing domestic violence
Nearly a quarter of women have experienced emotional abuse by partner Analysis from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found nearly a quarter of women have experienced emotional abuse by a partner.
Playing Our Part: A Framework for Workplace Action on Domestic and Family Violence This is the fourth collaborative report to be published by the Champions of Change Coalition over the last 6 years of experimentation and evolution of practices and actions for workplaces to contribute to the prevention and response to domestic and family violence.
With an 'entrenched epidemic' in the national spotlight, what's being done to prevent violence against women?