Date and Time: Wednesday 17 July 2024 12.30pm-1.30pm AEST

Topic: The Australian Framework for the Ethical Co-production of Research and Evaluation with Victim Survivors of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence

Location: online via zoom, details will be shared just prior to the event

Presenters: Dr Katie Lamb, University of Melbourne, and a member of the WEAVERs

Register online by: 16 July 2024

Event Description:

Join us for a 1-hour presentation from Dr Katie Lamb (University of Melbourne) and Lily Fetter and Lula Dembele from the WEAVERs about the Australian Framework for the ethical co-production of research and evaluation with victim survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence.

The WEAVERs are a group of women who have experienced domestic, family violence and/or sexual violence and who play a role in ‘weaving’ lived experience into research and training at the University of Melbourne. The group is supported by the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence.

With increased interest in co-producing knowledge using participatory practices with people with lived experience, the Safer Families Centre and the WEAVERs produced the Framework which provides best practice principles and a set of resources to engage in co-produced research and evaluation with victim-survivors. The Framework was jointly funded by the World Health Organisation and the University of Melbourne. It draws upon relevant existing guidelines and literature and the previous work and experiences of the WEAVERs and University researchers who have been engaging in co-produced research together since 2016.

The principles and resources provided in the Framework are relevant to AES members who are involved with, or have an interest in, undertaking evaluations of programs and policies that intend to address domestic, family, and sexual violence. Nearly ten years after the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, these forms of preventable violence continue to cause significant harm across Australian society. It is important that evaluators understand their role in ethical engagement with victim-survivors as key experts and partners in co-production processes.

The presentation will be followed by a brief Q&A about the Framework.

This free event has been organised by the AES Victoria Regional Network. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators.

About the Presenters

Dr Katie Lamb is a Co-Design Research Fellow in the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence. She manages a stream of research and 15 WEAVERS lived experience co-researchers.

She has a background in criminology and public policy and a passion for issues which sit at the interface between the child and family welfare and criminal justice systems including family violence. Katie brings statewide planning and policy expertise gained from her work in the Victorian Government to her academic work and is particularly interested in how research can support policy and practice. Katie's PhD explored ways to embed the perspectives of children and young people who have experienced family violence in programs for fathers and resulted in the development of a number of resources for programs who work with fathers who use violence as well as lead to the development of a pilot program based on the reparation model she developed. Katie has a particular interest in research which is co-designed with adults and children with lived experience using participatory research methods as well as exploring the ethical issues involved in this work. Katie is currently working with lived experience researchers to develop a Framework for the Ethical Co-production of research with victim survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence which was co-funded by the World Health Organisation as well as a range of commissioned work with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Royal Melbourne Hospital and a range of family violence organisations.

Lula Dembele

Lula is a Safer Families Centre WEAVER and the co-author of the framework presented in this seminar.

She is an expert in gender relations and system change. She passionately supports people who have survived childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence. By combining her personal experiences with her professional knowledge in policy and gender issues, Lula works hard to make sure that our society changes to prevent and reduce violence by men against women and children. She has co-authored important reports like the Australian Framework for the Ethical Co-Production of Research and Evaluation with Victim-Survivors and Who Uses Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence, How, and Why? The State of Knowledge Report on Violence Perpetration (2023). Dembele is making a meaningful impact in creating a safer world.

Lula is also on the QUT Centre for Justice Gender and Violence Advisory Board, Department of Health Expert Reference Group for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, and the National Plan (To End Violence Against Women and Children) Advisory Group. She is one of the co-founders of the Independent Collective of Survivors, and founder of the Accountability Matters Project which seeks to drive collective action to reduce men's use of domestic, family, and sexual violence.

Lily Fetter

Lily Fetter is a Safer Families Centre WEAVER and a midwife.

She is a family violence social justice campaigner and advocate who, along with a larger group of women, ‘weave’ lived experience into research and training projects undertaken by the University of Melbourne, Department of General Practice.  You can learn more about the WEAVERs here.

Lily is also responsible for the administrative tasks involved in coordinating and supporting the team of WEAVERs and is the connection point between academic staff and the WEAVER team.

As a midwife she has keen interest in women’s rights in pregnancy and childbirth, the impact of family violence on these life experiences and improving health sector responses to managing these.

Please ensure you have access to your email address to receive the zoom details. Please also check your email address is correct on your registration form before submitting. 

This seminar will be recorded and available on the AES Youtube channel approximately four weeks after the date. We suggest you subscribe to the AES YouTube channel to be notified when new recordings are added. 

Session start times

VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS, QLD: 12.30pm

SA, NT: 12.00pm

WA: 10.30am

New Zealand: 2.30pm

For other time zones please go to  https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html