More Than Survivors: Helping Children and Young People Heal and Thrive After DV Homicide
Tracks
Ballroom 1: In-Person & Online
| Wednesday, November 25, 2026 |
| 10:35 AM - 11:05 AM |
Overview
Kylie Druett, Australian Voices For The Silenced
Three Key Learnings
1. Identify how current domestic and family violence service systems can unintentionally exclude children affected by domestic violence homicide, particularly those who are no longer connected to a living non-offending parent.
2. Understand the need to better identify, measure, and respond to the scale of children affected by domestic violence homicide and the long-term impacts on their safety, wellbeing, and life outcomes.
3. Explore survivor-led recommendations for a coordinated domestic violence homicide recovery response that supports children not only to survive, but to heal, thrive, and reach their full potential.
Speaker
Ms Kylie Druett
Co-founder
Australian Voices For The Silenced
More than survivors: Helping children and young people heal and thrive after DV homicide
Presentation Overview
This presentation draws on the lived experiences of families bereaved by domestic violence homicide and centres children and young people as victim-survivors in their own right. It explores the profound and enduring impacts of domestic violence homicide on children forced to navigate trauma, grief, disrupted attachment, family instability, and fragmented systems during critical stages of development.
Despite increased recognition of children within domestic and family violence responses, significant gaps remain for those impacted by homicide. Many children are excluded from services because their circumstances are considered too complex or because they are no longer connected to a living non-offending parent. Others are cared for by grandparents, siblings, extended family members, or carers who do not meet eligibility criteria for specialist support. Families describe systems that are fragmented, inconsistent, and at times retraumatising, leaving children excluded from the very services intended to support their recovery and safety.
The impacts of domestic violence homicide do not end in childhood. Trauma often re-emerges across the lifespan, intensifying at key milestones associated with identity, connection, and belonging, including starting school, graduating, forming relationships, marrying, and becoming a parent. Recovery therefore requires enduring, developmentally responsive support rather than short-term crisis responses.
This presentation examines the need for a coordinated post-homicide recovery response that recognises both the immediate and lifelong impacts on children and families. Survivor-led recommendations include a specialised domestic violence homicide recovery model combining assertive outreach, peer support, and coordinated clinical and therapeutic care. Peer workers with lived experience would provide long-term relational support, while specialist practitioners would coordinate therapeutic responses, advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration.
Ultimately, this presentation calls for a shift toward coordinated, long-term, trauma-informed care so children and young people affected by domestic violence homicide are given a genuine opportunity to heal, thrive, and reach their full potential.
Despite increased recognition of children within domestic and family violence responses, significant gaps remain for those impacted by homicide. Many children are excluded from services because their circumstances are considered too complex or because they are no longer connected to a living non-offending parent. Others are cared for by grandparents, siblings, extended family members, or carers who do not meet eligibility criteria for specialist support. Families describe systems that are fragmented, inconsistent, and at times retraumatising, leaving children excluded from the very services intended to support their recovery and safety.
The impacts of domestic violence homicide do not end in childhood. Trauma often re-emerges across the lifespan, intensifying at key milestones associated with identity, connection, and belonging, including starting school, graduating, forming relationships, marrying, and becoming a parent. Recovery therefore requires enduring, developmentally responsive support rather than short-term crisis responses.
This presentation examines the need for a coordinated post-homicide recovery response that recognises both the immediate and lifelong impacts on children and families. Survivor-led recommendations include a specialised domestic violence homicide recovery model combining assertive outreach, peer support, and coordinated clinical and therapeutic care. Peer workers with lived experience would provide long-term relational support, while specialist practitioners would coordinate therapeutic responses, advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration.
Ultimately, this presentation calls for a shift toward coordinated, long-term, trauma-informed care so children and young people affected by domestic violence homicide are given a genuine opportunity to heal, thrive, and reach their full potential.
Biography
Kylie Druett is the founder of Australian Voices for the Silenced, a lived‑experience advocacy organisation representing families bereaved by domestic‑violence homicide. AVFS delivers awareness‑raising initiatives and provides systems with critical insight into the needs of families after homicide. The organisation also advocates for policy reform and system change that prioritise safety and recognise the profound impacts of homicide on families, particularly children. Kylie’s advocacy is shaped by her own family’s experience of homicide and her professional background as a psychologist with extensive experience in military contexts and more than 20 years supporting communities affected by trauma and complex social harms.
