Enhancing Advocacy Practice: Survivor-Centered, Accountable, and Collaborative Approaches to DFV Response - Brisbane (Sept 2025)

This one-day, in-person training is designed specifically for women’s advocates working in the specialist domestic and family violence (DFV) sector in Queensland. Led by internationally renowned trainer Melissa Scaia (USA) and experienced Queensland practitioner Rosie O'Malley, this workshop centers survivor voices, enhances advocacy practice, and supports system accountability. 

Through engaging discussions, real-world case reflections, and hands-on skill-building activities, participants will explore: 

• How to identify and respond to coercive control through a survivor-defined lens 

• Strategies for trauma-informed, culturally safe, and intersectional advocacy 

• The advocate’s role in influencing and holding systems accountable 

• Tools for managing moral distress, vicarious trauma, and sustainable frontline work 

Rooted in both global best practice (e.g. the Duluth Model) and local Queensland realities, this training is for advocates who want to deepen their practice, build resilience, and make a meaningful impact on the systems surrounding survivors. 

Learning outcomes

Participants will: 

• Deepen understanding of coercive control and its impact on women and children. 

• Strengthen skills for engaging with women using a trauma-informed, culturally safe, and survivor-defined lens. 

• Examine system accountability and advocate roles in coordinated community responses. 

• Reflect on vicarious trauma, self-care, and sustainability in advocacy work. 

Who should attend

Practitioners who want to enhance their skills in the women’s advocate role.

Event details

Date: Friday 12 September 2025
Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm AEST
Location: TBC, Brisbane

Travel support is available* – click here to apply. If you are unable to download the application form please email workforce@healingfoundation.org.au to receive a copy. *Target Group Services Only

Presenters

Melissa (Petrangelo) Scaia, MPA  

•   Co-founder of Global Alliance for Women’s Safety and Equality    

•   Domestic Violence Trainer and Consultant for UN Women and Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis, MN  

•   Co-founder and author of Domestic Violence Turning Points  

•   Former Director of International Training at Global Rights for Women  

Former executive director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs (DAIP) also known as “the Duluth Model”. Prior to working in Duluth she was the executive director of Advocates for Family Peace (AFFP) for 17 years, a local domestic violence advocacy program. She has also trained internationally on Integrated Responses and has led and organized three Coordinated Community Responses (CCR) to address domestic violence in Minnesota.  She also has trained internationally on perpetrator programmes while also co-facilitating groups for men who batter and women who use violence for nearly 25 years.  
  

Rosemary O’Malley  

Rosemary O'Malley was the CEO of the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre (DVPC) from 2016 to February 2023. She commenced working for DVPC in 209 and was the Manager of the Men’s Domestic Violence Education and Intervention Program (MDVEIP) for seven years. Previously she worked for many years at Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) where she commenced facilitating the MDVEIP in 2005. Her academic background is in criminology, and she has written journal articles and contributed a chapter to the book Domestic Violence, Working with Men: Research, Practice Experiences and Integrated Responses. Rosemary sat on the Domestic Violence Death review Advisory Board and was the Convenor of the Queensland Domestic Violence Services Network from 2020-2022. She has travelled to the United States to investigate good practice regarding men's programs, fathering programs and integrated responses and she delivers workshops and speaks at conferences throughout Australia on the importance of collaborative practice between government and non-government organisations to improve the safety and well-being for those experiencing and escaping violence.  

Rosemary now works in a consultative capacity in the DFV Sector and delivers workshops and training, as well as Professional Supervision across all levels of the workforce.