This presentation will show how the Safe and Together Model will help practitioners understand the many ways a perpetrator’s choice to use violence may impact on child and family functioning. It will assist in holding perpetrators accountable for their choice to use violence and not allow them to use their Mental Health or Substance misuse as justification to be violent.
 
The goal of the Safe & Together Model is to create systems and practice change that is child-centered and helps to keep children safe and together with the protective parent.

This model will work toward helping you to become more domestic violence informed. It will enable you to become a more efficient and effective practitioner.

It has 3 main Principles which are:
1. Keeping the child Safe and Together with the non-offending parent.
2. Partnering with non-offending parent as a default position.
3. Intervening with perpetrator to reduce risk and harm to the child.

There are also 5 Critical Components which highlights the direct link of the perpetrator's behaviours, and how it links to children’s trauma and safety, and what affects it has on children regarding the housing stability or food etc.

It will also focus on the direct harm to the children; Are they going to school or not? It also links back to how his behaviour affects her parenting and general functioning eg. Is she drinking to cope with the abuse etc.

The S&T Model is also strengths based and looks at the survivors’ actions to keeping her and the children safe without blaming her for his behaviours.

Often services look only to treat symptoms without seeing the whole impact of Mental Health, Alcohol/Drug and how they intersect with Domestic and Family violence. We fail to see the perpetrator as parents and how this impacts family functioning.