Protect, Share, Support: Understanding Family Violence in Disability Service | The Centre
Protect, Share, Support: Understanding Family Violence in Disability Service is a specialised workshop designed for disability support workers operating outside of Victoria’s formal MARAM (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management) framework. This session introduces best practices from the MARAM framework and explores how they can be applied in disability service contexts, with a focus on safe, respectful, and informed responses to family violence.
Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how family violence presents—particularly through coercive control and cumulative harm—and how these experiences may uniquely affect people with disability. Using a disability- and trauma-informed lens, the workshop guides participants in responding to disclosures, sharing information appropriately, and seeking consultation from relevant support services. The session also provides practical guidance on documenting concerns, maintaining privacy, and navigating information sharing responsibilities for organisations not formally included in Victoria’s family violence information sharing framework.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the nature and spectrum of family violence, and how it uniquely impacts people with
disability. - Apply best practices for recognising signs of family violence and responding safely and respectfully to disclosures.
- Document observations and disclosures appropriately and collaborate effectively with family violence specialist services for consultation and support.
