Emergency Management Planning for Domestic Family Violence Increases After an Emergency
Tracks
Ballroom 1: In-Person & Online
| Tuesday, November 24, 2026 |
| 11:35 AM - 11:55 AM |
| Ballroom 1 |
Overview
Andrew Williams, Charles Sturt University
Three Key Learnings
1. Why the EM industry needs to meet community and government expectations.
2. Operationalizing research into non-professional, semi-professional industries.
3. Planning approaches to prevent or mitigate DFV through opportunities that a natural disaster may present.
Speaker
Andrew WILLIAMS
Lecturer/Researcher Emergency Management
Charles Sturt University
Emergency Management planning for Domestic Family Violence increases after an emergency.
Presentation Overview
Research has shown that Domestic Family Violence (DFV) increases in frequency and severity after a natural disaster. Research has been telling us this for the past four decades.
So how has the Emergency Management (EM) industry adapted to this information?
What has the industry done to plan for DFV after emergencies?
This presentation will discuss
• The government expectations on the industry and the effectiveness of how this has been presented to the industry.
• The benchmarks for industry planning for DFV
The government expectation is listed in the National Plan to Prevent Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Victorian Government’s Family Violence Framework for Emergency Management. There is a clear expectation from government that the EM industry will plan for DFV – but is that happening?
Across Australia, 469 Local Government Emergency Management plans were examined. The results identified that 1.6% of all plans (all from Victoria) engaged in planning for DFV. Whilst this seems grim, the reality is that that planning for DFV is happening, so my thesis has examined how the existing planning can be improved and planning in the 98.4% of other plans can occur.
To guide the industry, four specific risks have been identified from the research and operationalised to allow DFV planning by the EM industry. These four risks will be discussed.
Whilst this approach will allow the EM industry to undertake planning utilizing existing processes, the planning process will require a shared approach from DFV practitioners at the local level. This approach will prevent some DFV and prevent or mitigate other DFV incidents identified in the risk categories.
So how has the Emergency Management (EM) industry adapted to this information?
What has the industry done to plan for DFV after emergencies?
This presentation will discuss
• The government expectations on the industry and the effectiveness of how this has been presented to the industry.
• The benchmarks for industry planning for DFV
The government expectation is listed in the National Plan to Prevent Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Victorian Government’s Family Violence Framework for Emergency Management. There is a clear expectation from government that the EM industry will plan for DFV – but is that happening?
Across Australia, 469 Local Government Emergency Management plans were examined. The results identified that 1.6% of all plans (all from Victoria) engaged in planning for DFV. Whilst this seems grim, the reality is that that planning for DFV is happening, so my thesis has examined how the existing planning can be improved and planning in the 98.4% of other plans can occur.
To guide the industry, four specific risks have been identified from the research and operationalised to allow DFV planning by the EM industry. These four risks will be discussed.
Whilst this approach will allow the EM industry to undertake planning utilizing existing processes, the planning process will require a shared approach from DFV practitioners at the local level. This approach will prevent some DFV and prevent or mitigate other DFV incidents identified in the risk categories.
Biography
Andrew Williams is an Emergency Management Practitioner and a Lecturer/Researcher at Charles Sturt University, having worked in Health, Education, Local Government and Disability Sectors in Emergency Management.
Andrew has studied Emergency Management Planning for Domestic Family Violence - before, during and after an emergency.
Through these studies Andrew has developed strategies to improve operationalisation of risks associated with Domestic Family Violence in the Emergency Management context to assist the industry in prevention and mitigation of Domestic Family Violence increases after a natural disaster. This approach will assist the Emergency Management industry to meet community and government expectations.
