Beyond Standard MBCPs: Rethinking Responses to Young Men's Intimate Partner Violence
Tracks
Ballroom 1: In-Person & Online
| Wednesday, November 25, 2026 |
| 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM |
| Ballroom 1 |
Overview
Lisa Wheildon, No to Violence
Three Key Learnings
1. Standard MBCPs are not appropriate for this cohort; age-specific, developmentally informed alternatives are urgently needed.
2. Accountability and trauma-informed practice are complementary, not competing: Meli’s experience shows that holding both produces higher disclosure rates and deeper engagement.
3.The window when a young person is ready for change is narrow, and the service system must be designed to respond when it opens, not after it closes.
Speaker
Dr Lisa Wheildon
Research Lead
No to Violence
Beyond standard MBCPs: Rethinking responses to young men’s intimate partner violence
Presentation Overview
Young men aged 18–25 who use intimate partner violence (IPV), and the victim survivors affected by it, are among the most poorly served groups in the Australian domestic and family violence system. Standard Men’s Behaviour Change Programs (MBCPs) were not designed for this cohort, as the evidence shows: younger participants complete programs at significantly lower rates and applying adult-focused frameworks can actively undermine engagement.
This presentation draws on No to Violence’s international knowledge review of youth IPV and the practice experience of Meli’s Young Men’s Group, one of the few specialist behaviour change programs for men aged 18–25 in Australia. Together, they make the case for a fundamentally different approach: one that holds accountability and trauma-informed practice simultaneously, addresses the specific developmental and digital context of this cohort, and treats stabilisation as part of the intervention rather than a detour from it.
The evidence is clear that younger people’s violence is less entrenched, and their capacity for change is greater than that of older adults. Realising that potential, however, requires systems and programs designed for those who are actually showing up—young men from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with extensive histories of child protection involvement, out-of-home care, corrections and housing instability—recognising that they are not the only ones using IPV, but the ones most visible to systems such as police, courts and statutory services, rather than an imagined “adult perpetrator”.
This presentation draws on No to Violence’s international knowledge review of youth IPV and the practice experience of Meli’s Young Men’s Group, one of the few specialist behaviour change programs for men aged 18–25 in Australia. Together, they make the case for a fundamentally different approach: one that holds accountability and trauma-informed practice simultaneously, addresses the specific developmental and digital context of this cohort, and treats stabilisation as part of the intervention rather than a detour from it.
The evidence is clear that younger people’s violence is less entrenched, and their capacity for change is greater than that of older adults. Realising that potential, however, requires systems and programs designed for those who are actually showing up—young men from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with extensive histories of child protection involvement, out-of-home care, corrections and housing instability—recognising that they are not the only ones using IPV, but the ones most visible to systems such as police, courts and statutory services, rather than an imagined “adult perpetrator”.
Biography
Dr Lisa Wheildon is Research Lead at No to Violence, where she is developing a research agenda to inform effective interventions with people who use violence. Lisa's research expertise spans technology-facilitated abuse and coercive control, and the role of victim-survivors in co-producing policy and services.
Kristy Berryman brings over 20 years of experience in the community services sector, with extensive expertise in Specialist Children’s Services and Family Violence programs across the Barwon region. As Manager of Family Violence Services at Meli, she leads perpetrator and victim survivor programs and is a core member and manager of the RAMP.
