2022 Stop Domestic Violence Conference Program

Poster Presentations

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

4:40 PM - 4:50 PM

Overview

Parents and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Challenges and Future Directions.

Dr Julia Rudolph, University of Greenwich

The HEART Connection

Kate Crowley-Smith, Broken to Brilliant

Integrated Services for Survivor Advocacy (ISSA) - Supporting Victim Survivors of Family and Sexual Violence: Navigating the Victims of Crime Framework to Promote Recovery

Cristiana Tomasino

CRC’s Miranda Project: Resistance to Violence and Ways of Healing

Marisa Moliterno, Community Restorative Centre

Activating Spirit | A consideration of cultural and spiritual needs in healing trauma

Maira Pihem

Put Yourself In Our Shoes- Wahine Māori, Partner violence, The Media and, Help Seeking

Karina Cootes

Faith, Domestic Violence and the Need To Recognise Spiritual Abuse

Sarah Chang

Involving men in a national movement to prevent violence

Allan Ball, White Ribbon Australia

Clinical Leadership to achieve enhanced family violence responses in front-line workers

Ms Renata Kiss, Anna McLeod, Canberra Health Services

Learning Lessons for Gender-Based Violence During a Pandemic

Patricia Kostouros and Dr. D. Gaye Warthe, Mount Royal University

Predisposing factors, risk predictors, impacts and recommendations for Partner and Family Violence amongst Indigenous Australians

Janet Dune, Western Sydney University

Looking in before looking out: Acknowledgement of university students who have experienced domestic violence through their life histories

Dr Kelly Lewer, University Of Wollongong VIRTUAL BOOTH

Indicators of Coercive Control in Family Assessments

Janette Thorogood, Max Solutions

What organisations can do differently to support people impacted by family violence from a CALD background

Hannan Amin, Good Shepherd

Court Orders Hold No Currency with Family Services: How Professional Intuition is Failing Alienated Children and Parents in Australia

Diana Dixon

Finding Our Voice – Case studies of women survivors of domestic violence who found empowerment and healing through the creative arts and storytelling

Lija Austen

Domestic and Family Violence: Complex Families Across the Lifespan

Kym Tighe, Deidre Venz, Louise Mcphee

Working from the ground up: What our schools are telling us they need to respond to family and domestic violence

Toni Mccallum, Dr Judy Rose, Griffith University

Speaker

Mrs Lija Austen

Counsellor

Owner

Poster Presentations

Abstract

“Expression is the pathway to deep and lasting healing”, Jamie Marich PhD

“People start to heal the moment they feel heard” Cheryl Richardson

Domestic Violence can lead to long term PTSD impacts for survivors. One challenge can be difficulty in expressing oneself which will be referred to as ‘losing your voice’ in this session. To survive we learnt it was not safe to speak about our needs, wants, feelings, passions and opinions. We learnt it was safer to remain silent and hidden.

Trauma specialist & Creative Arts Therapist, Dr Jamie Marich (2019) writes “We may have internalised the message that what we need to express does not matter to the world. We may even think that great harm will come to others and ourselves if we express ourselves”

When we ‘lose our voice’ we find it harder to advocate for ourselves which can put us at risk of falling into unsafe relationships and perpetuating the cycle. By finding ways to share our experiences in a safe and supportive environment we can reclaim ourselves and our personal power.

This presentation will explore case studies of survivors whom Lija has interviewed and witnessed heal and transform through the power of arts and storytelling.

Survivor 1 found healing through her painting ….. ‘I started expressing myself creatively as a way of getting in touch with the trauma that my body didn’t have a voice for”

Survivor 2 found her voice through a trauma informed women’s speaking program….. “When I first started the program I could not even say my name and now I enjoy speaking in front of large groups”

Survivor 3 wrote poetry to express her painful experiences and find freedom

Survivor 4 shared her story anonymously in a book of survivor stories and found healing & empowerment.

Biography

Lija Austen is a professional counsellor and member of the Australian Counselling Association. She is passionate about supporting women survivors to find healing and empowerment. She has over 20 years of experience working in the community sector providing counselling and family support. She also has lived experience with surviving domestic violence.

Dr Kelly Lewer

Lecturer

University Of Wollongong

Looking in before looking out: Acknowledgement of university students who have experienced domestic violence through their life histories

Abstract

Domestic violence does not discriminate. It impacts women regardless of socioeconomic status or classed background. The experiences of middle-class, mature age female university students, who have enrolled in studies post domestic violence have been underserved within the literature. This presentation will address gap by presenting the methodology and findings of a recent narrative inquiry doctoral study which collected and analyzed the life histories of nine mature aged female university students from New South Wales, Australia who had left a violent relationship prior to their studies.
Most of the women entering their university studies experienced improvements in purpose and confidence as they looked towards the future. By collecting and presenting these life histories, this inquiry is an example of sharing lived experience of drivers and/or related violence as a tool for transformative change.

Biography

Dr Kelly Lewer is a Lecturer at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong. She has an interest in the impact of domestic violence on the health and wellbeing of women, with a particular interest in how that impacts their interactions within societal spaces such as education.

Ms Maira Pihema

Kaitiaki Rangatira

Te Rau Ora

Poster Presentations

Abstract

Activating Spirit | A consideration of cultural and spiritual needs in healing trauma.
(Language & Cultural Revitalisation will be an example used)

This workshop will explore the importance of healing trauma through language and culture as experienced by indigenous people of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

The loss of language and disconnect from culture has had a serious impact on the spiritual, physical and mental well-being of indigenous peoples of Aotearoa / New Zealand. Te Rau Ora is an organisation that aspires to create healthy indigenous workforces which effectively contribute to Māori Health and Well-being, embedded in the cultural values and practices of the indigenous people of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

He Whare Wahine (the house of women), is one area within the organisation who chooses to focus on, and to place women within the greater nucleaus of the whānau (family). Women as the nurturer, the carer, the storyteller and the leader.

He Whare Wahine actively seeks the emphatic advancement of Māori women with the tribe and contemporary communities as valid representatives and voices of intergenerational trauma. Through the practical application of culture to all life domains which enable Māori women to move from personal disadvantage to personal equality, we work with women and families to restore the role of women as leaders, in our homes, communities, tribe, councils and government.

This workshop will speak about the practical implementation of tikanga (culture) and language practices that are incorporated into the training of the Māori workforce within the organisation. It will recognise the importance of language and cultural practices, as a vital contributer to the overall physical, mental and spiritual well-being, and understanding how these relate to the overall tuakiri (identity) of a person.

This workshop will be lead by Maira Pihema, in collaboration with other members of He Whare Wahine.

Biography

Maira Pihema (Aotearoa/New Zealand) Maira has been working in the area of Language Revitalisation for twenty five years, initially through working with the Māori Language total immersion organisation Te Ataarangi. Currently, she works at Te Rau Ora, as a part of ‘He Whare Wahine’ (the house of women) team. This team seeks the emphatic advancement of Māori women within the tribe and contemporary communities, as valid representatives and voices of intergenerational trauma. Maira is a passionate, and engaging language activist, and her role within Te Rau Ora is to be a part of the drive for language and cultural principles to be normalized within the organisation, and to support the workforce in ensuring that indigenous knowledge is at the core of all we do as an organisation.