A 3 hour workshop for practitioners in family and domestic violence services

This workshop builds practitioners’ understanding of how power, privilege and oppression shape victim survivors’ experiences of family and domestic violence, and what it takes to make specialist services genuinely inclusive, equitable and accessible to all.

Participants will explore how privilege and oppression, including racism, ableism and classism, can become embedded in services over time, often without anyone noticing, and why reflecting on our own organisation’s role is the first step to change. The workshop covers the legal and ethical responsibilities of specialist services under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 WA, including obligations to eliminate discrimination, and what a whole-of-organisation approach to equity and inclusion looks like across service design, eligibility and practice.

A central focus is intersectionality, understanding how gender intersects with other forms of inequality and oppression to create unique experiences of violence and unique barriers to safety, and practical ways to respond, including partnerships with equality-led organisations and reflective practice on power dynamics in service delivery. The workshop also covers inclusive and accessible communication, including working with professional and accredited interpreters, and providing Auslan interpreters or other communication support for people with disabilities.

The session closes with a look at culturally responsive practice across diverse backgrounds and experiences, including involving clients from diverse backgrounds in service design and ensuring practitioners have ongoing access to cultural safety and responsiveness training. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to apply an intersectional, culturally safe and accessible lens to their everyday practice.

Duration: 3 hours

Audience: Practitioners working in specialist family and domestic violence services