Evidence tells us that family violence gets worse in emergencies. Living under lockdown restrictions limits movement, can contribute to financial instability, and increase stress – all of which can contribute to an increase in family violence.
As healthcare workers, it is important to identify family violence and respond to family violence and provide advice to help keep people safe. To support you with this, we have a range of resources available to help build an understanding of the different forms of family violence and what actions can be taken if you become aware of someone experiencing it.
One of the most important steps we can take is to complete the Family Violence training. This training covers the role of health professionals in identifying and responding to family violence, risk factors and support options.
There are many other resources available for you to reference in situations of suspected family violence or disclosure:
- The Family Violence Flowchart, which provides a step-by-step approach to responding to signs of family violence or to having a patient disclose an incident of family violence.
- The family violence clinical guidelines are available on PROMPT.
- The referral and resource information which can be found in the family violence services list on PROMPT and on the COVID-19 website.
If you have any questions, you can contact the Family Violence team.
Approved by A/Prof Katrina Nankervis