Active Research

Improving legal, policy and practice responses to the intersection of domestic violence perpetration and child sexual abuse offending

    • Understanding child sexual abuse
    • Disclosure of child sexual abuse
    • Needs of victims and survivors
    • Response to child sexual abuse
Research Topic areas 
  • Domestic & family violence
  • Drivers of child sexual abuse
  • Government & policy responses
  • Intersection with other violence/victimisation
  • Justice & legal responses
Project Duration
Start: July 2023
End: August 2025
Geographical Scope
Nation-wide
Populations
Victims and survivorsParents & caregiversWorkforce
Young adults (18-25 years)Adults (26-65 years)Older adults (>65 years)
Gender
All genders

Project Lead

Associate Professor Michael Salter, University of New South Wales
Project lead email: michael.salter@unsw.edu.au

Project Team

Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz, Griffith University
Dr Delanie Woodlock, Monash University
Angela Lynch, Queensland Sexual Assault Network
Dr Cate Banks, Monash University
Kathleen Maltzahn, Sexual Assault Services Victoria
Professor Jan Breckenridge, University of New South Wales
Di McLeod, Gold Coast Centre against Sexual Violence

Background

This project will provide essential insights into the challenges of responding effectively to the intersections of domestic and family violence and familial child sexual abuse. Domestic and family violence perpetrators are at increased risk of sexually abusing their children, however, responses to both are siloed and lack coordination.

Aims

This project aims to investigate how legal systems respond when child sexual abuse is reported in the context of domestic and family violence, explore how the co-occurrence of child sexual abuse and domestic and family violence is managed by services, and examine the lived experience of the intersection of domestic and family violence and child sexual abuse from the perspective of survivors.

Methods

This mixed methods project will include a content analysis of Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia cases, interviews and focus groups with up to 30 practitioners, and interviews with up to 10 adult victims and survivors whose mother or stepmother was subjected to domestic and family violence, and 10 domestic and family violence survivors whose children were sexually abused by the perpetrator.

Significance and Dissemination

This project will create new knowledge about cases in which child sexual abuse occurs in the context of domestic and family violence, how legal systems respond, and how services manage these cases. The project will document the complexities faced by victims and survivors, as well as the professionals involved in their cases, and will make evidence-based recommendations to improve outcomes.

Further Details

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Funding body:
The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse
Funding budget:
$195,651 grant
Monitoring and governance:
This project is guided by oversight of the Project Advisory Group
Australian Human Research Ethics Committee:
This project is subject to ethical oversight by the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee
Prevention of child sexual abuse

From bystanders to allies: a structural feminist perspective for supporting child victims and adult survivors of child rape and torture.

Emma Rees
Queensland University of Technology
Needs of victims and survivors

Supporting Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: Rapid Evidence Reviews

Michaela Guthridge
The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse
Understanding child sexual abuse

Ngagagee Ngulu Murrup Durra (‘The Ngagagee project’)

Graham Gee
Murdoch Children's Research Institute

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Understanding child sexual abuse

Preventing child sexual abuse by understanding perpetrators’ motivations
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Preventing repeat child exploitation material offending: An international evaluation of the CEM-COPE Program
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Amplifying the voices of victim-survivors: Advancing the harmful sexual behaviour evidence base – the Ava project
Reshaping the Conversation: Development of a shared language and preferred definitions guide endorsed by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse
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Response to child sexual abuse

From bystanders to allies: a structural feminist perspective for supporting child victims and adult survivors of child rape and torture.
Supporting Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: Rapid Evidence Reviews
Ngagagee Ngulu Murrup Durra (‘The Ngagagee project’)
Preventing repeat child exploitation material offending: An international evaluation of the CEM-COPE Program
Evaluation of the Multi-Agency Investigation & Support Team
Conceptualising and Estimating the Costs of Child Sexual Exploitation (Phase One of Australian Study into Economic Costs of Child Sexual Exploitation)
Effect of multi-agency deliberation on perceptions of risk in responses to child abuse and neglect
The Australian child sexual abuse attitudes, knowledge and response study
CHANGE – curtailing harm and navigating growth: evidence for change pathways of young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour
Investigating experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure and disbelief in the Family Court
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The dignity by design project: survivor-led system redesign
Evaluating a harmful sexual behaviour education program in a residential care setting
Community as experts: investigating the context, needs and help-seeking pathways for child sexual abuse survivors and their supporters in the NSW Bega Valley
Developing and implementing a framework for abuse prevention through culture change and organisational development
Reshaping the Conversation: Development of a shared language and preferred definitions guide endorsed by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse
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Australian Child Maltreatment Study
Children and Young People’s Safety Project
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Enhancing the capacity of rural and regional respectful relationship educators
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The safeguarding capability of adults in Catholic Church ministries: a global perspective
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Survivor perspectives on institutional use of child sexual abuse material
The more I talk, the stronger I get: unlocking our past to free our future
Delivering trauma-informed support for child sexual abuse victims in Victoria: mapping the knowledge gaps and training needs of the specialist sectors
Online child sexual victimisation and associated mental health outcomes
Differentiating adverse childhood experience profiles of male youths who exhibit harmful sexual behaviours

Needs of victims and survivors

From bystanders to allies: a structural feminist perspective for supporting child victims and adult survivors of child rape and torture.
Supporting Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse: Rapid Evidence Reviews
Ngagagee Ngulu Murrup Durra (‘The Ngagagee project’)
Evaluation of the Multi-Agency Investigation & Support Team
The Australian child sexual abuse attitudes, knowledge and response study
An environmental scan of Child Sexual Abuse related workforce training offerings in Australia
Enhancing the capability of Australia’s Primary Health Workforce to respond to child sexual abuse
Investigating experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure and disbelief in the Family Court
Understanding the experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure in Australia in the wake of the Royal Commission
Building trauma-responsive sexual health and relationship education
Learning from victims and survivors about what helps disclosure and responses to child sexual abuse
Amplifying the voices of victim-survivors: Advancing the harmful sexual behaviour evidence base – the Ava project
The dignity by design project: survivor-led system redesign
Supporting continuous quality improvement in safeguarding at Hockey Australia and other national sporting organisations
Evaluating a harmful sexual behaviour education program in a residential care setting
Community as experts: investigating the context, needs and help-seeking pathways for child sexual abuse survivors and their supporters in the NSW Bega Valley
Enhancing the capacity of rural and regional respectful relationship educators
Creating safer futures: raising public awareness of child sexual abuse among young adults through digital storytelling
Survivor perspectives on institutional use of child sexual abuse material
The more I talk, the stronger I get: unlocking our past to free our future

Prevention of child sexual abuse

From bystanders to allies: a structural feminist perspective for supporting child victims and adult survivors of child rape and torture.
Preventing child sexual abuse by understanding perpetrators’ motivations
Ngagagee Ngulu Murrup Durra (‘The Ngagagee project’)
Preventing repeat child exploitation material offending: An international evaluation of the CEM-COPE Program
Conceptualising and Estimating the Costs of Child Sexual Exploitation (Phase One of Australian Study into Economic Costs of Child Sexual Exploitation)
The Australian child sexual abuse attitudes, knowledge and response study
An environmental scan of Child Sexual Abuse related workforce training offerings in Australia
CHANGE – curtailing harm and navigating growth: evidence for change pathways of young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour
Evaluating a harmful sexual behaviour education program in a residential care setting
Developing and implementing a framework for abuse prevention through culture change and organisational development
Building a knowledge frame for responding to the needs of children and young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour
Australian Child Maltreatment Study
Strengthening relationships and connections for young people in therapeutic residential care
Differentiating adverse childhood experience profiles of male youths who exhibit harmful sexual behaviours

Identification of child sexual abuse

From bystanders to allies: a structural feminist perspective for supporting child victims and adult survivors of child rape and torture.
The Australian child sexual abuse attitudes, knowledge and response study
An environmental scan of Child Sexual Abuse related workforce training offerings in Australia
Enhancing the capability of Australia’s Primary Health Workforce to respond to child sexual abuse
Supporting continuous quality improvement in safeguarding at Hockey Australia and other national sporting organisations
Evaluating a harmful sexual behaviour education program in a residential care setting
Developing and implementing a framework for abuse prevention through culture change and organisational development
Children and Young People’s Safety Project
The safeguarding capability of adults in Catholic Church ministries: a global perspective

Disclosure of child sexual abuse

Ngagagee Ngulu Murrup Durra (‘The Ngagagee project’)
The Australian child sexual abuse attitudes, knowledge and response study
An environmental scan of Child Sexual Abuse related workforce training offerings in Australia
Enhancing the capability of Australia’s Primary Health Workforce to respond to child sexual abuse
Investigating experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure and disbelief in the Family Court
Understanding the experiences of child sexual abuse disclosure in Australia in the wake of the Royal Commission
Learning from victims and survivors about what helps disclosure and responses to child sexual abuse
Supporting continuous quality improvement in safeguarding at Hockey Australia and other national sporting organisations
Community as experts: investigating the context, needs and help-seeking pathways for child sexual abuse survivors and their supporters in the NSW Bega Valley