PAST EVENTS

International parental child abduction (IPCA) occurs when either a parent decides to remove their child from Australia without the other parent’s consent, or refuses to return their child to Australia after an agreed period overseas (such as a holiday). This webinar aims to raise awareness of IPCA and the available assistance provided by ISS Australia, a non-for-profit organisation that provides social work, legal and mediation services for children and families separated by international borders.

Drawing on interviews with women who have engaged with the legal system as a result of domestic violence, this presentation explores how women’s engagement with the legal system is frequently experienced as an extension of their abusive partner’s coercive control. It shows how legal processes provide an opportunity for abusive partners to continue and even expand their repertoire of coercive and controlling behaviours post-separation. 

THE VIEWS OF AUSTRALIAN JUDICIAL OFFICERS ON DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE PERPETRATOR INTERVENTIONS

This presentation presents the findings from the ANROWS national project examining the use, influence and management of perpetrator interventions in sentencing of domestic and family violence offenders. Their analysis of interviews conducted with 60 judicial officers from across all Australian state and territory jurisdictions reveals that the effective use of perpetrator interventions in decision making is constrained by various barriers to effective practice.​

This webinar focuses on the rationale for applying a developmental perspective to family law dispute resolution, and detail two evidence-based approaches to this work, covering infancy through to late adolescence. The principles of Child Inclusive Mediation and of the Young Children in Divorce and Separation program are also outlined.

This presentation explores concepts of parenting and capacity in the context of deepening our understanding about the challenges and strengths experienced by parents, their children and families who live with mental ill health. The discussion covers the principles of engagement, validation and understanding what parents bring to the spaces in which we meet them, managing complexity and fostering resilient parent-child-family relationships.

This webinar describes how a perpetrator pattern-based approach to domestic violence cases involving children can help with custody and access decisions. It covers the Safe & Together Model, which is used by child protection systems in Australia, North America, and the United Kingdom, to help guide decisions with evaluations and representation of children's best interests.

This webinar identifies known sources of miscommunication with speakers of Aboriginal languages and Aboriginal English and discusses recent linguistic research that identifies significant differences between Standard English and Aboriginal narrative patterns in the context of legal issues. The webinar discusses some of the implications for practice, and provides strategies for identifying and minimising miscommunication based on differences in narrative patterns.

This workshop supports professionals to better understand and respond to children and young people who engage in aggressive and controlling behaviours. The workshop explores how developmental attachment impacts on our capacity to trust and hand over control to others, and also looks at the important cognitive skills required to be able to comply with the expectations of others.