New practice resource launched
Healing our children and young people: A practice framework to respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has been published by ANROWS
First Nations children are overrepresented in child protection systems across Australia, including in Queensland. The impacts of the violence of colonisation and the policies such as the Stolen Generations are well known and have been documented extensively in the literature by First Nations researchers and others for decades (Atkinson, 2002).
A new report from ANROWS, You can’t pour from an empty cup, shared that harm in childhood can be carried into adulthood, potentially resulting in behavioural changes that impact education and health outcomes and lead to contact with legal and justice systems.
During the early stages of this project, it became evident that the research findings could be used to develop a culturally strong practice framework to guide and shape the work done for and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience DFV. Community researchers led the process to develop a culturally safe framework, with support from the research team.
The resulting resource, Healing our children and young people: A framework to address the impacts of domestic and family violence, places children at the centre, and introduces a series of healing pillars to guide the work that is done (see figure below). Candice Butler, lead researcher on this project and newly appointed Director of QATSCIPP’s Centre of Excellence said about the practice guidelines, “We wanted to develop something practical for our communities”.

Ensuring ease of use and accessibility was important to the authors. As Candice said, “It uses, purposely, terminology that anybody can pick up and implement in their daily work…so they can respond better to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities”. The practice guidelines are available now on the ANROWS website.
This article is part of our new Knowledge Translation series. Throughout 2023 we will be sharing more examples of evidence in action and resources you can use. If there is something you are interested in learning about, or some research you would like us to share with the sector, please let us know by contacting: theresa.kellett@anrows.org.au .