Article supplied by Curtin University
Though family and domestic violence has been established as a gendered issue in which the majority of violence is perpetrated by men towards women, there are some women who may use force in their intimate or familial relationships. This has been a controversial and debated topic of research and practice.
Internationally, women’s use of force is commonly described as a response to a primary aggressor’s violence (i.e. it is often an act of self-defence or defence of others, such as children in response to a violent partner’s actions), though it may also take a number of other forms. Very little is known about this in the Australian context, so Curtin University is gathering Australian evidence.
To date, there has been very little development of services specifically addressing women’s use of force. It is believed that this population may be using or attempting to access a wide range of services, including (but not limited to) alcohol and other drug, disability, financial, health, legal and mental health services, as well as specialist family and domestic violence services.
Curtin University is undertaking a national workforce survey to build the Australian evidence base, and ultimately lead to improved responses to women who use force. This could include the development of policy, strategic partnerships, professional development/training, and referral pathways. As this population will be found across a wide range of service delivery settings, practitioners from the wide range of fields that make up the community services sector are asked to share their views and experiences.
The team at Curtin know that workers are often asked to participate in research. In order to provide some recognition for your participation, you will be given the option of entering a prize draw to win an iPad at the end of the survey.
The survey is anonymous – you are not required to provide any identifying personal information, and no identifying information about your organisation/service will be reported on.
The survey closes on 15 March 2019.
Click here to access the survey.
If you have any questions about the project or would like more information, please contact Amy Warren at [email protected], or Professor Donna Chung at [email protected].