Children's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitioners
Tracks
Room 1: In-Person and Online
| Monday, November 25, 2024 |
| 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM |
| Room 1 |
Overview
Rebecca MacPherson, Ksondra Stephens & Caitlin Suthers, 54reasons
Speaker
Ksondra Stephens
Children's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitionerschildren's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitioners
Biography
Ksondra Stephens brings experience in implementing child-centred, trauma-informed frameworks within rural and remote communities in North West Queensland, particularly in high-risk domestic and family violence contexts. Her professional dedication is focused on mitigating the effects of domestic and family violence on children and ensuring their voices are integrated into the multifaceted dynamics of DFV. Additionally, Ksondra's background in trauma counselling underpins her commitment to facilitating trauma recovery for women and children affected by domestic and family violence. She is continually seeking innovative approaches to foster safety and restore attachment in parent-child relationships.
Ms Caitlin Suthers
Team Leader
54 Reasons
Children's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitioners
Biography
Caitlin Suthers currently works as a team leader in the DFV refuge space and has experience practicing in both crisis and recovery. Caitlin has a passion for working with women and children and is committed to providing trauma-informed support through a collaborative and inter-agency approach. Caitlin has a Bachelor of Social Work and finds continuous value in her connection with victim-survivors. She places a high value on keeping the primary focus to holding perpetrators accountable in their choice to use violence
Rebecca MacPherson
Senior Practitioner
54 Reasons
Children's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitionerschildren's Safety Planning: How to Include a Child Rights Approach When Planning for Safety - A Workshop for Practitioners
Abstract
54 reasons (part of the Save the Children Group) will share our child DFV-informed and child rights-based approach as the underpinning strategy to increase safety for children and young people experiencing DFV. As part of this presentation, we will share practice strategies that practitioners can use to engage with children and young people about safety planning.
As enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child rights approach includes centring children’s experiences; valuing and respecting children in their own right; responding to children and supporting their development holistically and in the context of their ecologies; taking children and their views seriously; and being accountable to children.
In 2022, 54 reasons commenced the creation of a single operating model to unite our approach to domestic and family violence work across the country, with Child Rights and the Safe & Together framework as the central feature of the model. At the forefront is a commitment to ensure that children and young people’s experience of domestic and family violence is universally understood and addressed within our practice, policy and advocacy areas as a deliberate and sustained threat to their safety, stability and wellbeing.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Understanding the experience of DFV trauma through a child rights lens helps to ensure children’s experiences are not underestimated or misunderstood in relation to their families’ broader context.
2. A child rights approach is more than using a ‘child friendly’ template to think about what children need.
3. Intentionally gathering and sharing information relevant to children’s experience of DFV helps to build safety for children and their families.
As enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child rights approach includes centring children’s experiences; valuing and respecting children in their own right; responding to children and supporting their development holistically and in the context of their ecologies; taking children and their views seriously; and being accountable to children.
In 2022, 54 reasons commenced the creation of a single operating model to unite our approach to domestic and family violence work across the country, with Child Rights and the Safe & Together framework as the central feature of the model. At the forefront is a commitment to ensure that children and young people’s experience of domestic and family violence is universally understood and addressed within our practice, policy and advocacy areas as a deliberate and sustained threat to their safety, stability and wellbeing.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Understanding the experience of DFV trauma through a child rights lens helps to ensure children’s experiences are not underestimated or misunderstood in relation to their families’ broader context.
2. A child rights approach is more than using a ‘child friendly’ template to think about what children need.
3. Intentionally gathering and sharing information relevant to children’s experience of DFV helps to build safety for children and their families.
Biography
Rebecca brings over a decade of experience in child protection and domestic family violence. Rebecca is passionate about ensuring families and children feel heard and understood through their journey and are responded to within a trauma informed framework. Rebecca enjoys working with families and children to increase their safety, connection and attachment while remaining committed to advocating for systemic change.
