Up to $4.5 million is being invested to expand The Supporting Adolescent Boys Trial to Port Augusta, South Australia, and Palmerston, Northern Territory, for young men and boys aged 12 to 18 years with childhood experiences of family and domestic violence (FDV).

It builds on the $23 million already provided to organisations for 12 trial sites across Australia.

The interventions being trialled assist boys and young men to heal and recover through strengths-based services that meet individual needs and circumstances.

The objective of the trial is to test a therapeutic individual support service that is trauma and healing informed for young men and adolescent boys to:

  • support participants’ recovery and healing from their experience of family and domestic violence
  • help participants to avoid choosing to use Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence (FDSV)
  • build the evidence base on effective support service approaches to supporting young men and boys exposed to family and domestic violence to reduce the risk of them using FDSV.

An independent evaluation of services delivered under the trial will be conducted through a separate arrangement.

Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said investing in early intervention and prevention, as well as supporting children as victim-survivors of gender-based violence in their own right, are key goals of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

“The Australian Government is committed to ending gender-based violence in one generation and addressing the impacts of developmental trauma to help healing and recovery will help break future cycles of violence,” she said.

In September, during a press conference, Rishworth said one of the really key elements of the National Plan is to acknowledge the experience of children as domestic violence victim survivors and to make sure that they get the support that they need. That's what these programs, she said, are all about. 

“We know that children, particularly men and boys, who have experienced family and domestic violence or other adverse childhood experiences, are more likely to choose to use violence, and therefore we know that if we are going to break the cycle, we must work with these boys and men to make sure that the cycle is not repeated.”

Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, Justine Elliot, described yesterday how critical early intervention work with young men was for breaking future cycles of violence.

“Ending gender-based violence in this country requires targeted effort from all corners of Australia, and I look forward to seeing young men and boys utilise the trial to heal and recover, and to break future cycles of violence in their own relationships,” Elliot said.

Member for Solomon Luke Gosling said that the funding for the trial is welcomed in the Northern Territory, as it will provide individual counselling and therapeutic supports for local young men and boys to help break future cycles of violence.

“This trial will allow our young men and boys from the Northern Territory, who are victim-survivors in their own right, to address the impacts of developmental trauma and foster healing and recovery to help them avoid choosing to use family, domestic or sexual violence in their own relationships,” Gosling said.

More information on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 is available on the Department of Social Services website.

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence, call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au for online chat and video call services.

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au

Feeling worried or no good? Connect with 13YARN Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporters on 13 92 76, available 24/7 from any mobile or pay phone, or visit www.13yarn.org.au 

Kids Helpline (1800 551 800) is a free, confidential online and phone counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.