Improve responses to victim survivors of family violence and sexual assault with disability through the Family Violence and Disability Practice Leader Initiative
What we have done and continue to do:
- Family Violence and Disability Practice Leaders work with family violence, sexual assault, and disability services. They aim to support people with disability who experience violence.
- Practice leaders provide:
- practitioner consultations
- staff training
- resources to improve the family and sexual violence sector’s response to people with disability.
Lead division: Family Safety Victoria
Strengthen the capability of the primary prevention, disability and social service workforces in disability-inclusive primary prevention activity through the Gender and Disability Workforce Development Program
What we have done and continue to do:
- The Program, delivered by Women with Disabilities Victoria, will continue to:
- build the evidence base to address ableism and the gendered drivers of violence against women
- deliver learning and development to address violence against women with disabilities. This includes violence in disability and social service settings
- provide strategic advice to the family violence and violence against women sector. This includes advising on policies and programs for prevention.
Lead division: Family Safety Victoria
Build professionals’ understanding of risk factors for people with disability experiencing or at risk of family violence. This is part of rolling out the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework
What we have done and continue to do:
- Deliver MARAM practice guides, tools and resources for professionals. This includes detailed information about applying an intersectional lens.
- Deliver MARAM training for prescribed workforces who work with:
- victim survivors
- people with disability
- adults using family violence.
- Encourage other workforces to follow the MARAM Framework. This includes access to resources, guidance, advice and peer support such as communities of practice.
- Partner with peak bodies to deliver training for working with victim survivors and adults using family violence. The training will:
- work with Safe and Equal and No To Violence,
- help workforces to identify and respond to family violence, victim survivors or people using violence
- share the impact of non-collusive practice and misidentification. Non-collusive practice means working with people using family violence in a non-judgemental way. People with disability may be more at risk of this.
- Develop guidance and tools for professionals. This can be used to engage directly with children and young people using or experiencing family violence. This includes:
- guidance on mislabelling and misidentification of young people using violence
- tools to support therapeutic pathways.
- Make the MARAM and Information Sharing eLearn mandatory for all non-operational staff and leaders at DFFH.
Lead division: Family Safety Victoria
Implement the Family Violence and Disability Crisis Response initiative
What we have done and continue to do:
- Provide brokerage to victim survivors with disability to remain safe or escape family violence. This includes funding for:
- personal support workers and carers
- disability aids
- assistive technologies
- accessible transport options.
- Build capacity in services that support victim survivors with disability.
Lead division: Family Safety Victoria
Support Victoria’s disability services to voluntarily align with MARAM, participate in training and collaboration with specialist family violence services
What we have done and continue to do:
- Improve how MARAM recognises presentations of risk for people with disability. This includes how NDIS participants manage their plans, engage with guardians and access services.
- Consider adding a disability lens to deliver MARAM Practice Guides and tools. This includes:
- assessing how disability services can learn about training
- engaging with Victoria's family and sexual violence service system.
Lead division: Family Safety Victoria