Michelle Hunt

Faculty of Education and Arts

Strong families and safe children: How can community-based services contribute to safe outcomes for women and children experiencing family violence?

Living with family violence presents as a significant risk to children’s safety and well-being. Informed by the Victorian Royal Commission into family violence, wide-scale family violence system reforms across Victoria have identified the safety and well-being of children as a priority and services working collectively as key way to achieving this aim. Commencing in February 2017, this research project is part of the collaboration between Federation University Australia and the Central Highlands Children and Youth Area Partnership (CHCYAP), and one of seven projects to be undertaken by PhD students that will contribute to the knowledge and shared agenda of the CHCYAP. With a focus on family violence, this research topic was developed to investigate how services can better work together to meet the needs of women and children who have experienced violence and contribute to the reform of family violence services in the Central Highlands region of Victoria. The presentation will outline the research question and the research methodology that will be used to answer the question. In particular it will explain how the theoretical framework has been influential in the development of the research question, methodology and methods.

Michelle Hunt is supported by an Australian Government RTP Fee-Offset Scholarship through Federation University Australia.