Family violence remains a pervasive and systemic issue in Australia. The outcomes of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria reflected the need for deep and sustained reform to address this challenge.
Although significant progress has been made in implementing these recommendations, gaps remain for young people who are victims of family violence, whether at home or from an intimate partner. This is due in part to:
Family violence involving children is frequently viewed through the lens of violence perpetrated by a male partner or parent against their female partner. The term “young person experiencing family violence” is most commonly understood in the context of exposure to family violence and in reference to a child or young person accompanying their parent to a refuge. Young people who are directly experiencing family violence, in some cases by their mother or sibling, and who end up fleeing home without a protective parent are rarely acknowledged.
Violence by a parent against a child is prevalent in our findings. Controlling the young person’s agency because of their age and other factors was also present. However, there were few support options in this area. Young people felt marginalised in current depictions of family violence.
There is a distinct lack of services for young victims of family violence aged 15 to 19.
The lack of an appropriate service response is due to a complex combination of a lack of clarity on young people’s agency rights (discussed further below) and the ways in which the family violence, family services, youth services, and child protection systems intersect – or do not intersect.
While not without challenges and still in the early stages of implementation, there is a system in place for children experiencing family violence through the Orange Door, where specialist family violence, child and family services, child protection, and men’s services collaborate to assess and refer people at risk of family violence.
Young people under the age of 15 can be placed in supported housing with their affected parent or, as a last resort, in out-of-home care. They can have their risk of family violence managed by a specialist family violence service that works with the parent. Similarly, there is a service system in place for adults who are victims of family violence, as well as access to emergency housing.
Clarity on young people’s rights is required so that systems and services do not limit their agency unnecessarily.
For a young person experiencing family violence in Victoria, which includes an intersection of state and federal jurisdiction, the policy and legal environment can be complex, ambiguous, and at times inconsistent, and as a result, young people’s agency is often unnecessarily diminished.
A path forward
When it comes to family violence reform, there is no doubt that Victoria outperforms many other jurisdictions in Australia and around the world. However, there are still gaps for young victims of family violence.
A lot of effort has gone into laying a solid foundation, but unless the development of a youth-specific approach is prioritised, they will continue to fall through the cracks.
Without proper support, young victim survivors of family violence are more likely to end up in the justice system, become further victims of family violence, or go on to perpetrate family violence, putting the potential of family violence reform at risk.
