New research reveals critical gaps in family violence support for young Victorians- Seeking help in their own right Report

New research has revealed young people experiencing family, domestic and intimate partner violence are consistently falling through the gaps of adult-centric support services.

A decade after Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence, experts say little has been done to make the system more accessible and safer for children, and are calling for the establishment of a dedicated digital national youth service.

The research, led by Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, is one of the first in-depth Australian qualitative studies on the experience of young victim-survivors of family violence. It was commissioned by Victoria’s 24/7 statewide family violence response centre, Safe Steps, which provides safety planning, risk assessment and crisis accommodation.

The ‘Seeking help in their own right’ report found young victim-survivors sometimes fail to access help when they are not accompanied by an adult, and where they seek help independently from their parents – this is particularly fraught in instances where the parent may be using violence.

The report also found:

  • In some cases, effective intervention for young victim-survivors often only came after a significant escalation of risk or harm.
  • Young people struggled to find services and information that were accessible, age appropriate and relevant to them.
  • School-based education on family violence and respectful relationships was often described as superficial or absent, failing to meet the needs of young victim-survivors.

CEO of Safe Steps, Dr Chelsea Tobin, highlighted the urgency of the findings and the need for structural change in how the crisis response sector responds to young people who seek help independently of an adult.

‘On any given night, 43 per cent of people Safe Steps places in crisis accommodation are under the age of 16. Children who experience family violence have unique needs, but what this research tells us is that they are repeatedly falling through cracks in a system not designed for them,’ Dr Tobin said.

Safe Steps is calling for the establishment of a dedicated national youth service for young people experiencing domestic, family and intimate partner violence.

Read the full report ‘Seeking help in their own rightYoung victim-survivors’ experiences of crisis responses for family violence in Victoria”.

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