Step by Step DVLS Grows it’s Digital Footprint – The COVID-19 Client Service Delivery Story

The Domestic Violence Legal Service, NT (DVLS) is a free service for people in Darwin and the Greater Darwin region who have experienced, or are at risk of domestic or family violence. Our team of lawyers offer information, advice and legal representation to our clients. Our Safety and Wellbeing Coordinator provides support and referrals for women, non-binary people, and children experiencing domestic violence. Our administration staff are the backbone of our office. They provide intake services, information and referrals, and are the first point of contact individuals have with DVLS.

In March 2020, the doors of DVLS closed to the public for the first time since they opened in 2009. Over the next 6 weeks, our service delivery transformed to meet the COVID-19 related restrictions. However, when the restrictions eased and the justice system returned to regular operations, DVLS decided to permanently implement some of these changes. What we learned in the relatively short lockdown period, but also in the months following is that just because things have been done a certain way doesn’t mean they need to continue being done that way. While COVID-19 brought many challenges, it also provided an opportunity to innovate, and prompted a refresh of practices to better serve our client base.

Our staff will talk about these innovations and about how DVLS has moved towards an even more client focused service delivery model underpinned by the first strategic plan in the organisation’s history. We will also provide an update on how we are continuing to innovate and modernise in 2021. Although DVLS is auspiced by the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, it is a standalone service with 7 staff and is a compelling example of how, despite the size of a workforce, development is possible when driven by frontline staff and implemented by management.

Women’s Discursive Constructions of the Lived Experiences of Domestic Violence in an Australian Context

There is a renewed interest to enact domestic violence policies and develop programs to prevent domestic violence against women in Australia. Despite this, domestic violence remains the leading contributor of death, illness, and disability for Australian women under the age of forty-five .One of the key difficulties of addressing domestic violence in the Australian context is that definitions of domestic violence vary considerably among stakeholders, including across support service providers. Another significant issue to consider in the Australian context is the high proportion of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people, who are often the subject of distorted and inflammatory domestic violence media coverage. My study will focus on women’s experiences of domestic violence across a range of CALD populations, while also examining how the Australian media (re)constructs and shapes contemporary discourses of domestic violence. I will employ a three-stage qualitative research design underpinned by the theoretical frameworks of intersectional feminism and post-structuralism, while Foucauldian Discourse Analysis will be used to analyse data. Stage one will be a secondary analysis of newspaper texts, while stage two will involve conducting a series of one-to-one interviews with CALD women who have experienced domestic violence, particularly examining if/how their cultural identities have impacted on their experiences, or their access or uptake of domestic violence support services. Stage three will involve examining cultural sources of domestic violence information to understand how domestic violence is constructed amongst CALD communities. Early findings suggest CALD women are largely absent from public discourses of domestic violence, and racial barriers prevent CALD women from fully accessing support services. It is expected that further insights will assist in the development of more targeted domestic violence programs in local communities, and add to knowledge that aims to improve the content and diversity of media coverage on domestic violence.

Violence Prevention Education on Global Scale

Systems of violence are complex so the solutions require more than just physical techniques. Empowerment Self Defence (ESD) is a holistic approach to personal safety which teaches tools to combat the whole spectrum of violence from verbal harassment to physical violence.

It is an evidence-based primary violence prevention system that teaches individuals how to recognise and interrupt violence by listening to the intuition assessing their options, asserting boundaries, using de-escalation strategies and provides tools for a range of psychological, verbal and physical responses.

Studies report that the majority of attacks can be averted using ESD skills even when an assault cannot be avoided. Survivors who have been previously trained in ESD recover faster, are more likely to report perpetrators and reach out for support.

ESD emphasises techniques that the average woman can learn easily and access in an emergency without having to think about the details.

So far ESD instructors have taught over 7000 people including victims of trafficking, girls at risk, rural women, social workers, refugees, students, mothers and daughters and more from all around the world.

ESD Global is a NFP dedicated to making ESD accessible around the globe through increasing public awareness of its profound benefits, providing instructor training to leaders who teach ESD in their communities, supporting research and providing program grants.

ESD Global Regional Manager for the Asia Pacific region, Antonella Spatola is organising and hosting Australia's first international ESD Global Level 1 train the trainer program in 2022 with 15 individuals representing over 10 countries.

ESD Global mission is to establish ESD as the key violence prevention strategy for women and vulnerable populations. We believe in prevention is better than cure. ESD Global empowers grass root and established organisations to integrate the principles of ESD into their current and new programs for their community needs.

A Tool for Monitoring and Facilitating Change in Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Aims: The aims were to develop and validate a tool that can enhance monitoring and support of men in behaviour change programmes relating to intimate partner violence.

Background: The Outcomes Star is a suite of collaboratively completed, strengths-based tools that both support and monitor change. Service users work with practitioners to agree where they are on the Journey of Change, with reference to the detailed scale descriptors. Triangle, the creators of the Outcomes Star was approached by Uniting Care Queensland (UCQ) to create a new version of the Star for working with male perpetrators of intimate partner violence.

Methods: Using a series of focus groups with practitioners and service users and an iterative process of refinement, data was gathered on the relevant domains and steps in the change process. A draft version of the new tool was piloted with 147 service users over a 12-month period – 110 from UCQ services and 37 from a UK-based program- ‘For Baby’s Sake’. The pilot data was analysed to assess the psychometric properties of the tool.

Results: The resulting pilot version of the ‘Change Star’ consisted of six domains: Taking responsibility; Thinking and attitudes; Safe actions & reactions; Being a good partner;
Role model for children and the men’s own well-being. Psychometric analyses indicated a unidimensional structure with good internal consistency (α = .86) and little item redundancy. The Change Star was responsive to change, with medium-large effect sizes in three areas and medium effect sizes in the other three.

Conclusions: Initial findings suggest that the Change Star has good psychometric properties and
is perceived as acceptable and useful. The Change Star can complement data on incidents of abusive behaviour and women partner’s experience in assessing the situation, identifying areas where support is needed and monitoring progress.

Development and Validation of the Empowerment Star Tool for Women who have Experienced Domestic Violence

Background: The Empowerment Star was designed for use in women’s refuge or outreach services, where domestic violence is the main reasons for using the service and where there is ongoing and holistic support. It is a version of the Outcomes Star, a collaboratively completed keywork and outcomes tool, developed by Triangle in collaboration with Eaves Housing.

Methods: Using a series of focus groups with practitioners and service users and an iterative process of refinement, data was gathered on the relevant domains and steps in the change process. The pilot version of the Star was tested with 46 women in Eaves Housing projects and several other services working with women who had experienced domestic violence. Practitioners and service users completed feedback questionnaires after the pilot. Further to this, validation work was conducted on the published version using routinely collected data (N = 241) from a UK crisis support centre providing accommodation for women and children in need of a supportive environment.

Results: The pilot of the Empowerment Star revealed that it worked well in a variety of domestic violence services, with positive feedback about how it supported keywork, made the journey of change explicit and provided a good visual depiction of needs and change. Tests of the psychometric properties of the Empowerment Star confirmed a unidimensional factor structure with good internal consistency and responsiveness to change. The change between first and second readings (collected on average of 61 days apart) was statistically significant for all outcome areas, with medium and medium-large effect sizes.

Conclusions: Initial findings suggest that the Change Star is well accepted and perceived as valuable as well as having sound psychometric properties.

Finding Relevant Evidence-based Digital Mental Health Services in Australia

Australian digital mental health resources and services are continuing to find a key place in national service delivery and there is a strong evidence base for their safety and effectiveness. There are many free or low-cost services which provide an easily accessible method of help for people who are not receiving face-to-face help, those who are but need additional support, and those who need support out of hours. Some of these web-based services include free government-funded practitioner support.

Consumers have reported that knowledge of appropriate digital mental health services can help them feel more empowered and provide more options for managing their mental health care. This is particularly relevant for people dealing with domestic violence issues and for practitioners supporting them. However, many consumers and practitioners also report that they feel overwhelmed by the range of digital mental health programs and apps available and are unsure how to choose appropriate, safe and effective resources.

The E-Mental Health Project (eMHPrac) is led by Queensland University of Technology and funded by the Australian Government since 2013 to promote digital mental health awareness and skills in primary care practitioners across the country. The team works closely with general practitioners, allied health professionals, community workers and health workers in Indigenous communities. eMHPrac has also been monitoring the steady growth in use of key Australian digital mental health service providers over the last 8 years. The increased use of digital mental health highlights the value of these options in facilitating access to mental health and wellbeing support.

This presentation will outline relevant digital mental health programs and resources to support the mental health of people dealing with domestic violence. The session will also provide guidance about how to select resources, and assess the evidence and safety of programs, forums and apps.