Theorising family and domestic violence work: What is the work and who does it?

Abstract

This report explores the nature, organisation and experience of domestic and family violence (DFV) work in Australia, with a focus on understanding what this work involves and how it is shaped by broader social, structural and institutional contexts. Drawing on qualitative research conducted with 126 DFV workers across multiple organisations in South Australia and Victoria, the study examines work across victim services, perpetrator services and Aboriginal-led services.<br><br> The findings highlight that DFV work is deeply shaped by gendered, racialised and colonial structures, as well as organisational and funding environments. The research identifies significant differences between sectors, including the feminisation and undervaluation of victim support work, contrasted with the framing of perpetrator work as more specialised or authoritative. Workers described navigating high levels of risk, administrative burden and emotional labour, often undertaking invisible or unpaid work to meet client needs.<br><br> The report emphasises that DFV work cannot be understood solely through skills, training or workforce shortages. Instead, it is embedded within broader systems of inequality that shape both violence and responses to it. The authors argue that strengthening the DFV workforce requires not only improved funding and conditions but also a fundamental rethinking of how violence, power and inequality are addressed across systems.