RESEARCH REPORT You can’t pour from an empty cup: Strengthening our service and systems responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience domestic and family violence
First Nations children experience high rates of domestic and family violence and are overrepresented in child protection systems in Australia. The long history of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that commenced with colonisation, the effects of which are still being felt today, significantly contributes to these outcomes. Policies intended to respond to these harms, improve wellbeing, and enhance safety, instead continue to cause harm, rarely providing culturally safe, well-resourced and trauma informed solutions.
This is the second of two reports from the project, Service system responses and culturally designed practice frameworks to address the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children exposed to domestic and family violence. The project used culturally safe, participatory action research methods with First Nations community members in eight regional and remote locations across Queensland to generate new knowledge about what works for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who have both experienced domestic and family violence and had contact with the child protection system. The first report from this project, New ways for our families explored existing literature and presented the findings from the first action research cycles. The final report, You can’t pour from an empty cup presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations from the final rounds of action research.
Significantly, the researchers found that experiencing domestic and family violence negatively impacted childhoods, behaviours and the ability to form healthy relationships as adults. Harms were carried forward into adulthood as these children and young people became parents and moved through systems. As a result many experienced child protection responses that used oppressive and controlling techniques and this increased distress. Research participants identified that there was a lack of focus on providing healing and support services for children and young people who experienced DFV and that service providers were often ill equipped to respond effectively to trauma.
This research provides an understanding of how services and systems including health and education can better hear from and respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience domestic and family violence. While conducting the research, and as a result of the initial findings which revealed the depth of cultural knowledge and community led solutions, the research team made the decision to also develop a culturally strong practice framework to guide policymakers and practitioners. The framework, Healing our children and young people: A framework to address the impacts of domestic and family violence is available on the ANROWS website.
Publication details
This work is part of the ANROWS research reports series. ANROWS research reports are in-depth reports on empirical research produced under ANROWS’s research program.
Authors
GARTH MORGAN
CEO, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
CANDICE BUTLER
Director, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
RENO FRENCH
Policy Officer, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
TAMARA CREAMER
Policy Officer, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
LISA HILLAN
Director, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
EVA RUGGIERO
Policy Officer, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak
JENNIFER PARSONS
Training and Development Officer, Mulungu Aboriginal Primary Health Care Service
GARETH PRIOR
Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Worker, Girudala Community Cooperative Society Limited
LELA IDAGI
Family Wellbeing Program Manager, Girudala Community Cooperative Society Limited
RACHEL BRUCE
Domestic and Family Violence Specialist Worker, Mura Kosker Sorority Inc.
ALETIA TWIST
CEO, Mura Kosker Sorority Inc.
TRACY GRAY
Domestic and Family Violence Practice Development Officer, Remote Area Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Care Advisory Association Inc.
MARY HOSTALEK
Family Wellbeing Service, Wuchopperen Health Service Ltd
JAMIE GIBSON
Family Wellbeing Service, Wuchopperen Health Service Ltd
BEVERLEY MITCHELL
Specialist Domestic and Family Violence Worker, Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement Co. Ltd
TRAVEN LEA
Chief Health Officer, REFOCUS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation
CAROL MILLER
Family Wellbeing Service, Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service
FRED LEMSON
Family Wellbeing Service, Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service
SONYA BOGDANEK
Family Wellbeing Service, Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Service
URSULA BARBER
Domestic Violence Specialist, Central Queensland Indigenous Development Ltd
PROFESSOR DARYL HIGGINS
Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies Australian Catholic University
ALEX CAHILL
Research Officer, Institute of Child Protection Studies Australian Catholic University
ISBN: 978-1-922645-63-0 (print) | 978-1-922645-62-3 (online)
71 pp.
Suggested citation
Morgan, G., Butler, C., French, R., Creamer, T., Hillan, L., Ruggiero, E., Parsons, J., Prior, G., Idagi, L., Bruce, R., Twist, A., Gray, T., Hostalek, M., Gibson, J., Mitchell, B., Lea, T., Miller, C., Lemson, F., Bogdanek, S., … Cahill, A. (2023). You can’t pour from an empty cup: Strengthening our service and systems responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience domestic and family violence (Research report, 01/2023). ANROWS.