In August 2024 I participated in a session held by La Trobe University - The Ideas & Society Program: Domestic Violence: Why? What is to be done? My ongoing research into gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and awareness supports my work advocating for DV survivors and raising awareness. Including writing a submission to the Royal Commission on Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence. The National Women's Safety Alliance (NWSA) funded by the Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, of which I am an active member provides an opportunity for me to contribute, participate in consultation and review of policy and reform on initiatives to implement the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. This plan makes 21 recommendations across 6 key areas for action by federal, state and territory governments. The recommendations include addressing the impact on children post escaping domestic violence and will be taken forward as a priority for discussion by National Cabinet. As a member i will be providing input as the committee unpack the Rapid Review Report "Unlocking the Prevention Potential: accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence."
Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence is increasingly becoming a growing aspect of my work for the University. Particularly synthesizing issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, wellbeing, gender-based violence, relevant research, reports, frameworks into scaffolded education development strategies, programs and awareness by embedding these capabilities and issues into learning and teaching, class management and student engagement in Educator Capability Development programs and initiatives.
In some of my past articles I have highlighted that teen boys behaviour and academic development can be significantly impacted by childhood domestic violence (DV). Teen boys can align their masculine identity to the perpetrator even though they may have in the past protected their mums from these very perpetrators. This is a reoccurring theme in the DV survivor forums and community support groups. As a DV survivor myself, I am in awe of the expertise I am surrounded by, both in the University where I work and in other institutions. The short video clips below from The Ideas & Society Program: Domestic Violence: Why? What is to be done? session contain explanations by Professor Salter on a question I proposed to him on the 'Impact of domestic violence on teen boys'.
For context Prof Michael Salter is the Director of Childlight University of NSW. Based in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, he is the Chair of the Grace Tame Foundation, Past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. He also sits on the Expert Advisory Group of the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner and the Advisory Group of the National Plan to Eliminate Violence Against Women and their Children and he is the author of two books, Crime, Justice and Social Media (Routledge, 2016), Organised Sexual Abuse (Routledge, 2012) and over sixty papers in international journals and edited collections.
In these 3 videos below (approx. 3 minutes) Professor Salter explains the impact of domestic violence on teen boys.
Part 1.
In Part 1. Professor Salter explains:
Broad impacts include dysregulating while their body and mind is developing
Physiologically and psychologically attuning to, and becoming attentive and sensitive to their environment of risk, fear and violence as part of the developmental process
Part 2.
In Part 2. Professor Salter explains:
Long term physiological and behaviour impact
More likely to become behaviourally disordered in terms of aggression, acting out
More likely to have poorer educational outcomes in school
Boys who are subject to abuse and maltreatment in the home and live in fear in the home are at risk of accumulative adversities from early on in life which becomes encoded
It is difficult for them to shift and change because they didn't develop the coping skills of regulating emotion, how to calm themselves down, when ashamed, when embarrassed or they feel attacked. How to react are fundamental proverbial lessons
Part 3.
In Part 3. Professor Salter explains
They often grow up in environments where the mum has been degraded in front of them
Even if the boy hates the perpetrator and has thrown himself between his mum and dad as a child, as a teenage boy they can start committing violence against their mum or assaults on others
Boy's do not understand why they are suddenly turning into their dad
They see the perpetrator as powerful - Identification with the perpetrator is because in their household the perpetrator was powerful and that is who they want to be to escape violence
That it's easy for those that see the impact of violence on women and kids to shutdown to acknowledging the perpetrator's psychology or history. They do not want to know about it,
However, prevention requires an understanding that for some the pathway to violence was their own victimization and we need to take responsibility for our failure to support them to recover.
So, what can be done?
Raising awareness and educating the public, service providers and educators is a good start. Teen boys dealing with trauma require trauma informed educational environments. Why is this issue so important for boys in particular? As Professor Salter suggests teen boys see the perpetrator as powerful, they witness degradation of females (mothers), they are exposed to toxic masculinity, addiction and substance abuse and they may emulate it...and the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence continues.
In my articles on teen boys development Part 1. Parenting Adolescent Boys (post DV) - Advice from the experts (info391188.wixsite.com) and Part 2. Parenting Adolescent Boys (post DV) - Advice from the experts (info391188.wixsite.com) I unpack some of the expert findings on the developmental impacts of DV on boys. Which incidentally align with Professor Salters work. The work that needs to be done during adolescence is critical to help boys navigate the hormonal teenage angst whilst recovering from (or still dealing with) domestic violence.
Much has been talked about in the Royal Commission and the Change the story, evidence-based framework to guide a coordinated and effective national approach to preventing violence against women. However, the issues of systemic incompetence, underqualified and trained staff in the police force, child protection and schools are enabling teen boys to transition from DV survivor along with their mothers and siblings, to next generation perpetrator. These staff require knowledge of the signs of domestic violence in teen boys and if they exhibit victim and/or perpetrator behaviours. Importantly they need to become educated on coercive control and the profound impact on children of post separation abuse or abuse by proxy. They need to understanding that DV impacts on boys can have lasting effects due to boys attraction to emulate masculinity and the perceived power associated with the abusive father.
Education on 'Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is a relevant framework for staff which describes any traumatic event during childhood such as violence, emotional abuse, neglect, substance abuse or an environment that undermines a child's sense of bonding and stability. The ACE study (the Centre for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente) can help guide professionals in understanding childhood trauma impact. About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC
Trauma informed education programs such as Supporting students impacted by trauma | schools.vic.gov.au are increasingly becoming absolutely necessary to help address the epidemic of sexism, violence and class management concerns. It is starting to be understood these are indicators of a range of mental, emotional and behavioural conditions where a deficit model of teaching appears to be failing, or no longer effective and a universal design approach is becoming encouraged.
Within my sphere of influence, my work can support the NWSA Submission on the draft plan to address Gender Based Violence in Higher Education, It is vital as we ensure educators are equipped to confidently contribute towards the Government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. In their capacity as educators and education leaders in Higher Education we are embedding universal design and trauma informed teaching approaches to foster inclusion, developing transition pedagogies to support new students into HE and working on building our educators capabilities and awareness.
Rethinking Primary Prevention
In New South Wales legislation has made "coercive control" a criminal offence. The law came into force on July 1, 2024. In response to this national emergency, Jess Hill, the author of the celebrated See What You Made Me Do and Michael Salter, Professor of Sociology at the University of New South Wales, (both in the above session by La Trobe University) have recently published an influential and controversial paper, Rethinking Primary Prevention. (You can read it here Rethinking Primary Prevention (substack.com)
In the Rethinking Primary Prevention paper Hill and Slater identify four missing pieces of the prevention puzzle. Hill and Salter offer a challenge to the principal programs for tackling domestic violence-gender equality education aiming at society-wide attitudinal change. Aspects of these will be pivotal in addressing the impacts on teen boys. They include:
1. Accountability and consequences – for perpetrators and systems that enable them – is prevention
We need to stop violent and controlling people from continuing to use violence and coercive control against their current partner, their next partner and their next partner. There is a lot to do to make police and the courts protective for victim-survivors. But accountability and consequences are not solely the domain of the justice system; in many cases, other consequences will be more meaningful and effective. For example, when the major banks detect persistent financially abusive behaviour, they are now suspending, cancelling or denying the offender access to their account. There are so many opportunities to introduce accountability and consequences across the systems weaponised by perpetrators, from child support to Centrelink and the family courts. Abusers should be identified by these systems and face consequences, instead of being allowed to carry on with impunity.
2. Recovery is prevention
Child abuse and neglect – including growing up with coercive control, being physically or sexually abused and being shamed or neglected by parents – are accelerants to adult victimisation and perpetration. The work done on preventing child abuse, preventing violence against women, and healing from trauma and abuse all needs to be linked. We need to properly resource the frontline to work with child survivors so they can properly heal.
3. Regulating damaging industries (including porn, gambling, alcohol and social media) is prevention
We all have a role to play in ending gendered violence, but those roles and responsibilities are not equal. For example, 14-year-old boys do not have the same responsibility for ending gendered violence as, say, the owners of TikTok or PornHub. We know young people feel that pornography is normalising sexual practices that girls and women describe as painful or unpleasant, and mainstreaming dangerous practices such as non-fatal strangulation. In our current prevention approach, the private sector is predominantly engaged in terms of education and training to create safe and respectful workplaces. That’s important, but there is no mention of business models that are actually causing or exacerbating gendered violence. We need to get serious about the impact of certain industries – particularly gambling and alcohol – on the severity and impact of perpetration.
4. Structural improvements to gender equality, such as the single parenting payment, is prevention
About 60% of single mothers have escaped domestic abuse. Even after they leave a controlling partner, our systems make it almost impossible for them to be safe. We need to reform our systems – from family law to child support and child protection – to vouchsafe their freedom, safety and independence.
In conclusion, there is much that we know about the impact of DV on teen boys. The evidence-based information available is conclusive. However, whilst our services, legislation, systems undergo enormous shifts to meet the needs of victims as community there is much that can be done. Individuals can educate themselves whether they work in childcare, education, child protection, the police force they see the epidemic level domestic violence on the news, the impacts of families effected by gambling and alcohol or the crime wave of youths involved in gangs, drugs and weapons. These all can be linked to intergenerational domestic violence and the devastating impact on teen boys who are simply seeking to establish a self-identity as they traverse adolescence. As adults we must remember 13, 14,15, 16 and 17 year old boys are not adults, they are children. They are undergoing incredible physical and intellectual develop at this stage. They are highly influenced and attracted to experiences that help define their masculine identity. Which is why I am utterly opposed to DV perpetrators having custody of children. I talk about this more in my next article where I outline some of the issues I raised in my submission to the Royal Commission on domestic, family and sexual violence. In the meantime the best we can do for boys is always act with integrity and remember, these boys are watching and learning.
Watch the full recording of The Ideas & Society Program: Domestic Violence: Why? What is to be done?
A recording of the full event and the transcript is available via this link. Click the “register” link and enter your email to access the recording. Ideas & Society Program: Domestic Violence: Why? What is to be done? (on24.com)
Contributors the La Trobe University - The Ideas & Society Program: Domestic Violence: Why? What is to be done?
Moderator: Annabelle Daniel OAM, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Community Shelters. Founding CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, has worked with local communities around NSW to establish, open and support the 11 crisis shelters in the Women’s Community Shelters network, plus establish new transitional housing, and three large-scale meanwhile-use homes for women aged 55+ experiencing homelessness. Annabelle's volunteer roles include Chair of Domestic Violence NSW (the peak body for domestic and family violence services in NSW), and the Independent Member on the New South Wales Coercive Control Implementation Taskforce, leading the Domestic and Family Violence Sector and Lived Expertise Reference Groups.
She has been a leader in women’s homelessness and DFV for over 15 years – also working on the front line as a Shelter Manager, and with the Federal Government as a Senior Departmental Leader within Services Australia, overseeing the Child Support Program, and as a Senior Investigator with the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Jess Hill, Journalist, author, speaker. Jess Hill is an investigative journalist, educator and advocate on gendered violence and coercive control. Her debut book, ‘See What You Made Me Do’ (2019), was a comprehensive investigation of the phenomenon of domestic abuse and coercive control, and was awarded the Stella Prize in 2020. Jess later presented a three-part documentary series adaptation which aired on SBS, and was a producer/presenter on a follow-up series for SBS, ‘Asking For It’ (2023), which explores consent and issues of sexual violence. Jess has spoken at almost 400 public events about gendered violence, as well as educating magistrates, health and family law professionals on coercive control. She sits on the National Women’s Safety Alliance Sexual Violence Working Group, and is regularly consulted by the gendered violence sector and policymakers. Recently, she was named marie claire’s 2023 Changemaker of the Year, and was awarded the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence for 2024.
Professor Angela Taft, Emeritus Professor and former Director of the Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University. She is a social scientist using rigorous combinations of qualitative and epidemiological methods to answer urgent and complex questions about women’s health. For many years, Angela has led a major competitively funded program of research at JLC on intimate partner/ gender-based violence. This has included analysing the health impact of partner violence over time in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health, Cochrane systematic reviews and randomised trials of IPV interventions in general practice and maternal and child health nursing.
Written by
Priscilla Green, Leader of Educator Development, Centre for Educational Innovation and Quality, RMIT University
Commentaires