Webinar: Listening to children when they are children

Children's Voices in Family Violence

In Australia, where family and domestic violence remains a national crisis, attention has sharpened on the approximately one in four children who witness it. Policy and research increasingly stress that these children are not mere bystanders but rights-holders entitled to express views on matters affecting them, as reinforced by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and echoed in recent family law amendments.

The push stems partly from evidence that delaying or adult-mediating children's accounts can lead to inadequate safety interventions, prolonged exposure, or misguided court orders in custody and protection cases. With child protection systems strained—evidenced by high notification rates linked to domestic violence—failing to listen effectively heightens risks of trauma entrenchment and intergenerational patterns.

A key trade-off lies in methodology: how to elicit authentic input from very young children without causing harm, while avoiding tokenism that satisfies legal checkboxes but ignores developmental realities. This intersects with calls for culturally responsive approaches, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children disproportionately impacted, where Western frameworks may inadvertently marginalize community knowledge.

Broader implications include resource allocation—training professionals to facilitate genuine participation demands investment amid budget pressures—and potential resistance from systems historically centered on adult victims or perpetrators.