Sexual and Family Violence: SAFE
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Professor Kelsey Hegarty+61 3 8344 4992
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A/Prof Laura Tarzia+61 3 9035 8604
Research Overview
Sexual and Family ViolencE (SAFE)
Our multidisciplinary program aims to improve the safety, health and wellbeing of women, families and communities by addressing problems of family violence and sexual abuse through early intervention. Using mixed methods, our focus has been on understanding the dynamics of violence; the links between violence and health; development and testing of interventions for screening, early identification and responses for women, children, young people and men, including the use of technologies. The program is affiliated with the Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence Against Women and their Children (MAEVe) and the Centre for Family Violence Prevention at the Royal Women’s Hospital.
The Program’s objectives are to:
- Explore the definition, prevalence, risk factors and natural history of abuse and violence across the lifecycle;
- Understand the physical and psychological consequences of abuse and violence for families;
- Explore experiences of abuse and violence among the health workforce;
- Develop and evaluate:
- Educational interventions at undergraduate and postgraduate levels;
- Screening, early intervention and therapeutic responses to assist families where abuse and violence is occurring;
- Innovative responses using new technologies for women and men to access;
- Work collaboratively with community groups, survivors, local, state and national governments and professional bodies; and
- Promote knowledge exchange and provide research evidence to inform policy and practice.
For further details about this program and for a complete list of research projects:
Staff
Professor Kelsey Hegarty - Program Co-Lead
A/Professor Laura Tarzia - Program Co-Lead
Dr Katie Lamb - Research Fellow - Experts by Experience
Ms Simone Gleeson - Safer Families Centre Manager
Ms Kitty Novy - Education Coordinator
Ms Rachel Komen - Education Support Project Officer
Peter Kelly - Research Fellow
Dr Elanor Bulford - Lecturer
Dr Liz McLindon - Research Officer
Dr Libby Dai - GP, Research Fellow
Dr Fiona Giles - Research Fellow
Dr Minerva Kyei-Onanijiri - Research Fellow
Ms Tracy Murphy - Postgraduate Nursing Coursework
Dr Jenny Neil - Postgraduate Nursing Coursework Coordinator, Research Fellow
Ms Cynthia Brown - Research Support Officer
Brad Anderson - Communications, Aboriginal Research Support Officer
Ms Kate Fowler - Communications Coordinator
Lilly Fetter - WEAVERs (Lived-Experience) Coordinator
Students
Ms Molly Wellington - PhD Candidate
Ms Jossy Jimenez - PhD Candidate
Collaborators
- WEAVERs lived-experience panel of survivors of family and sexual violence
- Centre for Family Violence Protection
- Social Work, The University of Melbourne
- Melbourne Alliance to End Violence Against Women and their Children (MAEVe)
- The Royal Women’s Hospital
- Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
- Berry Street Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria
- Drummond Street
- Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre
- No to Violence
- Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- World Health Organization
- Nexus Primary Health Care
- Women’s Health in the North
- La Trobe University
- Deakin University
- Bristol University
- Johns Hopkins University
- University College London
- PreVAIL
- Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network
- Children by Choice
- Marie Stopes International Australia
- Sexual Assault Services Victoria
Research Publications
Research Projects
- Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence
- Beyond Silence
- Early intervention with men who use violence (eMATE)
- I-DECIDE: Trial of an online healthy relationship tool and safety decision aid for women experiencing domestic violence
- PROSPER: PRevalence Of unwanted Sexual contact: Pursuing Early Recognition
- Risk identification and Risk Assessment Framework
- SUSTAIN: Sustainability of Identification and Response to Family Violence in antenatal care
- WITH: Women’s Input to a Trauma-informed systems model of care in Health settings
- BETTER MAN - Healthy relationship tool for men as early engagement
- Communication and safety strategies for children- MySafety
- Burndawan (safe)
- Friends responses
- UNCOVER
- The INVEST Project (INternational students’ sexual & intimate partner Violence Experiences STudy)
- MANTRA MeAsuring the beNefits of TRAuma-sensitive yoga for survivors of sexual violence)
- TRANSFORM
- REACH
- VOICES (Transforming responses to intimate partner and sexual violence: Listening to the voices of victims, perpetrators and services)
- SAFE PROJECT EXPANDED
- THE READINESS PROGRAM
- THE SAFE PROJECT (System Audit Family Violence Evaluation)
Key Contact
For further information about this research, please contact Program Co-Lead Professor Kelsey Hegarty
Department / Centre
General Practice and Primary Care
Unit / Centre
Sexual and Family Violence: SAFE
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