Responding to the Shadow Pandemic of Family Violence via telehealth

Join this webinar, to learn practical and safe ways of supporting patients at risk of /or experiencing family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The transition towards telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, raises additional risks for survivors of family violence and may provide them with fewer opportunities to safely disclose violence and abuse.

General Practitioners’ awareness and understanding of the unique risks to the safety of clients, families and carer's when using telehealth is vital to keeping families safe. It is important to have protocols and procedures to communicate safely while face to face may not possible. 

Join us as we discuss practical strategies how to undertake risk assessment and safety planning within a standard telehealth consultation, as well as what to do if the patient is not ready to accept the referral to one of the local services. 

Drawing on a skilled panel consisting of Professor Kelsey Hegarty from University of Melbourne’s Safer Families Centre, Specialist Family Violence Worker from one of the local services and a family violence survivor.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this session, you will be able to: 

• Learn how to identify and safely respond to family violence survivors via a telehealth consultation
• Demonstrate how to safely support your patients when conducting a risk assessment via telehealth
• Understand what it is like for a survivor accessing telehealth in the pandemic 
• Demonstrate an awareness of local services, up-to-date resources and pathways 

SPEAKERS

Dr Kelsey Hegarty

Kelsey Hegarty leads the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence. Kelsey also holds the joint Chair in Family Violence Prevention at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Women's Hospital, and co-chairs the Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence against Women (MAEVe).

Jac Dwyer

Jac is a Specialist Family Violence Practice Development and Training Officer at Berry Street. Jac has worked in mostly direct practice roles in the community sector for over 12 years and in a Specialist Family Violence role for the last 3. In her current role, Jac supports Berry Street’s family violence services to align to policy and practice frameworks and facilitates family violence training externally, including with the Pathways to Safety training program for General Practice clinic