Domestic and Family Violence Awareness & Prevention Initiative Conference 2025
Theme: Together, we can break the cycle of violence and build safer, stronger communities.
📅 Date: Saturday, May 24, 2025
📍 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, 75 Ashley St, Braybrook VIC 3019
🕚 Time:
11:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Conference Presentations, Panels & Workshops
5:00 PM – 12:00 AM | Dinner & Cultural Entertainment
📍 Evening Venue: The Pearl Restaurant and Reception, 75 Ashley St, Braybrook VIC 3019
Conference Overview
The 2025 Domestic and Family Violence Awareness & Prevention Initiative Conference is a pivotal, state-wide event addressing one of Australia’s most urgent public health and human rights concerns—domestic and family violence. Organised by the Centre for Migrant and Refugee Health (CMRH) and funded by the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY), in partnership with the Sudanese Mothers’ Coalition in Victoria (SMCV), this conference serves as a culturally responsive platform for knowledge-sharing, strategic dialogue, and community mobilisation.
This one-day forum will bring together survivors, policymakers, health professionals, researchers, youth advocates, community leaders, and frontline workers to explore collaborative, trauma-informed solutions. With a particular focus on migrant, refugee, and CALD communities, including South Sudanese/Sudanese and other African Australians, the conference underscores the importance of culturally competent, community-led responses to family violence.
Key Conference Features
🎤 Keynote Address
Delivered by a nationally recognised leader, survivor advocate, or expert in family violence prevention.
🧠 Expert-Led Panels
Multidisciplinary dialogues exploring intersections between legal systems, healthcare, mental health, youth empowerment, and cultural leadership.
🛠️ Interactive Workshop Streams
Workshops are designed to equip participants with actionable strategies tailored to distinct roles and experiences. Topics include:
- Parenting & Prevention
Strengthening positive communication, household safety, and resilience in multicultural families.
Target Audience: Parents, carers, elders, and guardians - Youth Empowerment & Peer Education
Enabling youth to lead awareness, education, and early intervention efforts.
Target Audience: Young leaders, students, youth workers - Cultural Safety in Service Delivery
Fostering trauma-informed, trust-building practices within CALD-focused services.
Target Audience: Health professionals, case managers, advocates - Legal Rights & Justice Navigation
Guiding participants through legal protections, family law, and justice system access.
Target Audience: Survivors, legal support workers, frontline responders - Healing Through Storytelling & Creative Arts
Using artistic expression to process trauma and support healing journeys.
Target Audience: Survivors, women’s groups, cultural practitioners
🧾 Resource & Services Expo
A curated space to explore available services across mental health, legal support, social work, and multicultural outreach.
🤝 Networking Forums
Facilitated sessions to foster cross-sector partnerships, peer connections, and referral pathways.
🎭 Evening Cultural Celebration
A vibrant evening at The Pearl featuring music, dance, and storytelling that honours community strength, resilience, and leadership in healing from violence.
Conference Themes
- Cultural Safety & Community-Centred Prevention
Building trust-based, culturally appropriate models of violence prevention. - Youth-Led Dialogue & Early Intervention
Promoting youth agency in disrupting cycles of violence. - Mental Health & Trauma-Informed Recovery
Addressing the psychological impact of violence and embedding recovery frameworks. - Multisectoral Collaboration
Strengthening service integration and interagency response mechanisms. - Women’s Leadership & Advocacy
Elevating survivor voices to shape systemic and policy reform.
Who Should Attend?
- CALD families, survivors, and cultural leaders
- Mental health professionals and support workers
- Youth, educators, and youth-focused organisations
- Police, legal professionals, and caseworkers
- Local and state government stakeholders
- Refugee and migrant community service providers
- Women’s advocacy organisations and researchers
Why Attend?
Violence affects entire communities—it requires a united, inclusive response. This conference offers:
- Culturally grounded, evidence-based prevention tools
- Direct access to leading experts and community practitioners
- Insightful conversations anchored in lived experience
- Networking and collaboration across sectors
- A safe, respectful space for healing and growth
Call for PhD Presentations: OPEN
🎓 Spotlight Theme: Children and Young People Caught in the Cycle of Family Violence
We invite PhD candidates to present research exploring the impact of family violence on children and youth, especially within CALD, migrant, and refugee populations.
Eligibility:
- Enrolled in a relevant doctoral program
- Research must focus on social, psychological, or systemic dimensions of child/youth exposure to family violence
- Priority for projects addressing culturally diverse communities
To Apply:
Submit your abstract (300–400 words), a short bio, and CV to:
📧 info@cmrh.org.au or communications@cmrh.org.au
🗓️ Deadline: May 8, 2025
📢 Finalists Announced: May 18, 2025
Registration
✅ Free entry for health professionals, community members, and leaders
🎟️ All contributions go directly to CMRH’s community support and advocacy programs.
Contact Details
📨 CMRH: info@cmrh.org.au | 📞 0433 443 791
📨 SMCV: monmajak@gmail.com | 📞 0431 023 688
Join Us to Break the Cycle of Violence—Together.
Be part of this vital statewide gathering to advance justice, safety, and healing for all communities.
