Working with women who use force: a feasibility study protocol of the Positive (+)SHIFT group work programme in Australia

Abstract

IntroductionThis study assesses the feasibility of the Positive Shift (+SHIFT) programme in the context of legal responses and social welfare provision in the state of Victoria, Australia.The +SHIFT programme, adapted from the Vista curriculum, is a group work and case management programme for women who use force. Building on traditional survivor support group strengths, the programme facilitates participants’ engagement with viable alternatives to force while promoting healing. The study also aims to increase understanding about the characteristics and needs of women who use force in Australia.Methods and analysisThis feasibility study will assess the +SHIFT programme’s appropriateness in addressing women’s use of force in the Victorian context. Process evaluation will be undertaken to identify recruitment, retention, women’s participation, barriers to implementation, the appropriateness of proposed outcome measures and other issues. The feasibility of an outcome evaluation which would employ a longitudinal mixed methods design with measures administered at preprogramme, programme completion and 3 months postprogramme time points, along with semistructured interviews with participants, programme staff and referring professionals, will also be assessed.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics approval was obtained from the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee. Results of the study will be communicated to the programme providers as part of the action research process evaluation methodology. On completion, final results will be reported to programme providers and funding bodies, and published in academic journals and presented at national and international conferences.

Beyond the Victim-offender Binary: Legal and Anti-violence Intervention Considerations With Women Who Have Used Force in the U.S. and Australia

“…While this is an important question, it has also become clear from different parts of the service system (e.g., women's services, family services, child protection, and substance misuse services) that some women do use force, whether in self-defense or proactively in their family relationships. It has also emerged that most of this use of force does not occur in the same context, or with the same motivation or intent, as men's violence and coercive control of women in their domestic relationships (Kertesz et al, 2019). Both evidence and practice experience suggest that this group of women need a service which addresses both victimization and use of force, and differs significantly from MBC programs.…”

“…Most women reported that they experienced mental health problems and almost all had experienced partner abuse at some time in their lives. The following discussion of women's experiences, differing social identities, and systems responses to those differences, is drawn from the published program evaluation (Kertesz et al, 2020).…”

“…The +SHIFT program is consistent with a practice framework which combines both trauma-informed therapeutic work, and an intersectional approach focusing on how social messages pressure women to define themselves and their relationships in particular ways, and respecting women's own understandings of their lives experience (Kertesz et al, 2021). An important aspect of the program is that it provides a safe space for women to share common experiences of individual and systems abuse, with others from a range of backgrounds and social identities.…”