Webinar: Listening to children when they are children

Listening to children when they are children will be the fifth instalment of our webinar series unpacking the ways of working and ways of knowing set out in The Australian National Research Agenda to End Violence against Women and Children (ANRA) 2023–2028.

It’s a way of working that focuses on the importance of engaging children and young people in research who are victim-survivors of domestic family violence (DFV).

Children and young people are victim-survivors in their own right, and including their voices can bring added depth and insight into research.

While there are challenges and additional considerations in safely engaging children and young people in research, they do not outweigh the positive and validating benefits children and young people get in having their voices and opinions heard.

Join our webinar, where panellists will:

• Highlight the importance and benefits of engaging with children and young people as part of the research process
• Discuss the process issues that researchers encounter and how to overcome them
• Discuss their experiences of working with children, young people and researchers
• Recommend practical tips and advice on how to communicate and establish positive working relationships with children and young people for research

The panel discussion will be followed with a live Q&A. You can also submit questions ahead of time when you register.

This webinar will have live captions and will be recorded and uploaded to the ANROWS website and YouTube channel.

Who is this webinar for?

People involved in domestic, family and sexual violence research or evaluation work, including researchers, funders, practitioners, service providers and data custodians.

Event details

Date: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm AEDT
Location: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free

For enquiries, email events@anrows.org.au

Registration

Register to watch the webinar live

Register to receive the webinar recording

Speaker biographies

Panel facilitator: Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine, CEO at ANROWS

Tessa was born and grew up on unceded Gadigal land (Sydney), where she lives again after living overseas including in England, China and India.

Prior to joining ANROWS in 2024, Tessa was the founding CEO of Health Justice Australia, the national centre for health justice partnership. Originally a criminologist, she has worked in health, criminal justice and human rights organisations in Australia and internationally.

She was previously Deputy CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service and was the inaugural Fulbright Professional Scholar in Nonprofit Leadership.

Tessa’s PhD looked at the detention and release of mentally disordered offenders.

Tessa is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and combines her passions for enabling young people to thrive and for arts and culture as Deputy Chair of the Board of Gondwana Choirs, the leader in Australian choral performance.

Panellist: Dr Georgina Dimopoulos, Associate Law Professor at Southern Cross University

Dr Georgina Dimopoulos is one of Australia’s leading socio-legal researchers on children’s rights and participation in family law. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Southern Cross University.

Her research across family law, children’s rights and family violence aims to strengthen children’s meaningful, safe participation in decision-making processes. Georgina has successfully led research projects that implement ethical, innovative co-research methodologies with children and young people as lived experience experts, in collaboration with industry partners.

Georgina has been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) 2026, for research that will generate new knowledge about children’s participation in family court matters as family violence victim-survivors in their own right.    

Panellist: Layla Wenitong-Schrieber, Researcher, Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG)

Layla Wenitong-Schrieber is a proud Dhauwarbarra woman of the Kabi speaking peoples.

Living in Gimuy, she is an in-house researcher with Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) as part of the SPARC partnership with CQUniversity and the communities of Yarrabah, Doomadgee and Woorabinda.

Layla brings experience in community-led, culturally grounded research involving young people, with a strong focus on ethical practice and translating research into meaningful outcomes for families and communities. delivery.

Panellist: Georgiana Thomas-Peddell

Georgiana Thomas-Peddell is a proud Zenadth Kes young woman from the Maluligal and Kaurareg Nations, born and raised in Gimuy.

She is the Program Manager of the Good Vibrations Program at Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) and is studying a Bachelor of Social Work.

Georgiana is passionate about ensuring young people feel safe, valued, and heard.

She has facilitated and co‑facilitated youth consultations and supported young people through consultation projects both within DIYDG and with external organisations.

She has been involved as a participant in youth research projects and has also facilitated DIYDG’s own youth-led research, as well as assisting external organisations with youth research and consultations.

Her advocacy was strongly influenced by her years with Marliya Choir of Spinifex Gum, where truth‑telling through music strengthened her voice. She also serves as Secretary of the Cairns NAIDOC Committee.