Clean Slate Counselling

04/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BVVJnHxoJ/?mibextid=wwXIf

Yesterday we said lived experience is the most rigorous evidence the system will ever encounter.

Here is a chance for victim-survivors to put that directly into the hands of researchers working to change how the NSW justice system responds to those who come to it for help.

The University of Sydney's Sydney Law School is conducting new research into the justice system experiences of adult victim-survivors of DFV in NSW. They want to hear from people who have had contact with police, courts or another NSW justice agency about a DFV matter since 1 July 2024.

Victim-survivor engagement is open now through August 2026. If you are considering taking part, now is the time to reach out.

This research prioritises lived experience. It is trauma-informed, confidential, and co-designed with survivor advisory groups. You can choose how you participate: a one-to-one conversation, a group yarn, an anonymous online survey, or a written or creative submission.

You share as much or as little as you wish. You can stop at any time.

Reimbursement is available for those who take part in a conversation or yarn.

The findings will inform policy, law and system reform. That means what you share could help shape a more just system for those who come after you.

This is exactly what we mean when we say lived experience is not soft knowledge. It is the blueprint for what a better system looks like.

To be eligible you need to be aged 18 or older, have lived experience of DFV as a victim-survivor, have had contact with the NSW justice system about a DFV matter since 1 July 2024, and your matter needs to be finalised or not under active investigation.

Your privacy and safety are central to this research. Participation is entirely voluntary. All names and identifying details are removed from anything you share, and findings are reported at group level only. No individual can ever be identified.

If you visit the University of Sydney project page and need to leave quickly, there is a Quick Exit button at the top right of the page.

To find out more or to register your interest:
Email: [email protected]
Text or voice message: 0481 063 317
Online survey: sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Z82dtZOijbxOJM

Full project details: https://www.sydney.edu.au/law/our-research/research-projects/justice-system-experiences.html

Not sure if you are eligible? Contact the research team directly to discuss. There is also a separate study for victim-survivors who do not meet the eligibility criteria for this one. Contact [email protected] or text 0486 361 302.

Your voice matters. This is one way to make sure it is heard by the people working to change the system.

750+ doctors. Standing up. Speaking out. Working for change.

If you or someone you know needs support:
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24hr)
DVConnect: 1800 811 811 (24hr)
Full Stop Australia: 1800 424 017 (24hr)
Rainbow DV Helpline (LGBTQIA+): 1800 497 212 (24hr)
13YARN: 13 92 76 (24hr — First Nations)
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 (24hr)
Emergency: 000

29/05/2026

This week, the federal government announced something worth reading carefully, and worth asking honest questions about.

The Albanese Government is rolling out a $4.1 million training package for police across every state and territory. The HEAR program is designed to improve frontline responses to family, domestic and sexual violence. At least 10,000 officers will receive the training this year.

It was developed with ANROWS (Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety) alongside victim-survivors who have directly experienced police responses. The topics are the right ones: coercive control recognition, technology-facilitated abuse, trauma-informed response, misidentification of victim-survivors, and culturally safe policing in First Nations communities.

That last point matters. First Nations women represent 3% of the adult female population and 16% of adult female homicide victims since 1989. It has the potential to improve outcomes for all women, and most urgently for First Nations women, who face the highest risk of fatal violence.

Doctors Against Violence Towards Women welcome this. We also know that training programs are only as strong as the culture they land in. An officer can complete a module and still turn off a body-worn camera at a DV callout. A trauma-informed framework on a screen does not automatically become a trauma-informed response at the door.

The measure of this program will not be completion rates. It will be whether women are believed. Whether coercive control is charged, not minimised. Whether First Nations women stop being the most likely to die and the least likely to be protected.

We'd like to hear from our community: clinicians, social workers, advocates, supporters, and people with lived experience. Have you seen police responses improve in your area? Or are you still waiting for it? Tell us in the comments.

Laws change faster than systems do. We'll be watching.

750+ doctors. Standing up. Speaking out. Working for change.

If you or someone you know needs support, help is available 24 hours a day:

1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24hr)
DVConnect: 1800 811 811 (24hr)
Full Stop Australia: 1800 424 017 (24hr)
Rainbow DV Helpline (LGBTQIA+): 1800 497 212 (24hr)
13YARN: 13 92 76 (24hr - First Nations)
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978 (24hr)
Emergency: 000

Media Release linked in first comment.

Sources:
- First Nations women homicide statistics: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024
- HEAR program funding and rollout: Media release, Attorney-General the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, 26 May 2026.

29/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/18xCxf4d61/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Read my new article "Coercively Controlling Fathers and the Hidden Threat They Pose to Children". https://dremmakatz.substack.com/p/coercively-controlling-fathers-and

Mainstream thinking tends to be that if children are going to be harmed by anything in relation to domestic abuse, it is seeing or hearing incidents of physical violence, or getting hurt themselves during such incidents. People often don't think about abuse based on coercive control, and would struggle to see just how dangerous and harmful a coercive control-perpetrating father could be to children.

This article shows how coercive control does harm children - how every coercive control tactic that a perpetrator is using will also be harming any children or young people in the family. It also reveals what key research studies have found about the parenting of domestically-abusive and coercively controlling fathers.

Victim-survivor mothers are not to blame for any of these harms — they were victims of the same abuse that harmed the children. Victims are not to blame for harm experienced by other victims. It is perpetrators who are responsible, as they had both power and unconstrained choices, but they continued their abuse rather than stopping it.

"Coercively Controlling Fathers and the Hidden Threat They Pose to Children" - 3 Key Facts explored in the article:

Fact 1: Just looking at physical violence is nowhere near enough to tell us about the full scope and severity of domestic abuse.

Fact 2: Situations where coercive control is present are uniquely harmful.

Fact 3: Fathers who carry out coercive control-based domestic abuse cannot parent in adequate ways. Every tactic that the coercively controlling father uses against the victim-survivor mother harms the children’s lives on a day-to-day basis.

I say 'fathers' for a reason here. Of course, a coercively controlling mother would be harmful too. However, 97% of those convicted for coercive control are men, so in the vast majority of cases it is the father who is the coercive control perpetrator in the family.

Link https://dremmakatz.substack.com/p/coercively-controlling-fathers-and

20/05/2026

NSW could soon change how mental health emergencies are handled.

The Minns government says police may no longer be the first response in some mental health incidents.

Police minister Yasmin Catley confirmed a new agreement with NSW Health is “very close” to being signed.

The proposal follows the UK’s “right person, right care” model, where health workers attend incidents if there is no crime or immediate danger.

Pressure for reform grew after several fatal police encounters involving people experiencing mental health distress in NSW.

Chris Minns said more announcements could be coming soon, while police unions argue officers should stop being the “default response for every crisis.”

17/05/2026

14/04/2026

New England creative events to raise awareness of DV | A series of powerful community events will use art and storytelling to raise awareness of domestic and family violence.

Click the link in the comments to get the full story, paywall free. Really.

07/04/2026

Red tape delays mental health care for rural people | A Medicare change designed to improve quality of care is inadvertently disadvantaging rural people seeking mental health treatment, an inquiry has been told.

Click the link in the comments to get the full story, paywall free. Really.

28/03/2026

17/03/2026

When you mess up, repair fast