Practice staff play a vital role in creating a safe, welcoming and confidential environment for individuals and families affected by family and sexual violence. Reception and administrative teams are the first people patients see and speak to at the practice when they come in, making their awareness essential.
The Pathways to Safety workshop, delivered by local GPs, family violence workers and lived-experience experts working with the Safer Families Centre, the University of Melbourne, equips nonclinical staff with practical knowledge to identify signs of family and sexual violence, respond appropriately within their role and support the whole-of-practice approach to safety.
“A beautiful program. We were able to get a lot of support, resources, and a lot of advice as well. Even doing this program went hand in hand to be able to make changes, implement changes, start the process, documentation, information, education. Just to get the ball rolling. It just went hand-in-hand.”
GP Practice Manager
“Gaining an understanding of the prevalence of this issue within the community. Insight into the average number of presentations in general practice each week. Awareness of my role as a receptionist in assisting to highlight potentially vulnerable females through being more observant on the front desk.”
GP Receptionist
Participants will learn how to create safer practice environments, safely engage with patients experiencing sexual and family violence, and assess current clinic protocols and resources to better enhance their clinic’s response.
Additional workshops for clinical staff will be offered to provide a whole-of-practice approach to addressing the issue of family and sexual violence. Details can be found here:
Don’t live in north-west Tasmania? Please submit an expression of interest to be notified when a workshop will be held in your area via this form.
Learning outcomes:
- Identify types and signs of family and sexual violence and how members of the family might present in the waiting room.
- Identify and critically examine barriers to disclosure and seeking support for patients experiencing family and sexual violence in general practice, to inform safe and effective clinical responses.
- Apply appropriate, respectful and culturally safe engagement strategies with patients experiencing family and sexual violence.
- Assess current clinic protocols and resources for responding to family and sexual violence to identify areas where changes are needed to enhance response.
For more information on Strengthening the response to family and sexual violence in Tasmania: A primary care learning initiative, including Pathways to Safety workshops and collaborative learning opportunities, visit the Primary Health Tasmania website.
Speaker information:
Anjelina (Anj) is a family violence specialist who brings deep practice experience, critical insight, and a strong commitment to social change. With a background in education and social work, she has worked in the specialist family violence sector for over ten years as a therapeutic practitioner, therapeutic practice lead, and educator. Anj’s work is informed by an intersectional feminist framework and a human rights lens, with a particular focus on power, privilege, and systemic harm. She approaches education as a relational and reflective practice, prioritising learning environments that are safe, accessible, and responsive to the lived experiences of participants. Through dialogue, shared understanding, and allyship, Anj seeks to support meaningful shifts in practice and contribute to more just responses to family and sexual violence.
Further speaker information will be shared soon.
Disclaimer: Deidentified registration and evaluation data for this workshop will be shared with the SAX Institute for reporting to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. All data handling will comply with Primary Health Tasmania’s ISO27001 Certification requirements