Unveiling Graduate Readiness to Respond to Domestic and Family Violence in Australian Social Work Programmes

Social workers trained initially through university education are essential in community responses that seek to address domestic and family violence (DFV). However, research has shown an international shift towards dominant models of thought that individualise or pathologise understandings of DFV in social work practice. This is problematic as it can cultivate a disconnect from the social justice mandates of the profession. Re-centring DFV within the social work curriculum has since become a focal point, but following, there is a dearth in research to measure what change, if any, this has cultured. This is further complicated in the Australian context, where to date the authors acknowledge, few studies have examined the extent of social workers' exposure to DFV within university curriculum. This project sought to redress this issue, by quantitatively surveying understandings and perceptions about DFV among Australian university social work students and recent graduates. Specifically, the study examines their attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and perceived proficiency about recognising and responding to DFV. The findings suggest that notions of feminist praxis may be diluted in social work curriculum specific to DFV, and as such novel approaches to reinvigorate a structural examination of DFV in Australian university social work curriculum warrant further attention. Social workers play a critical role in prevention and intervention of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) in our communities. This exploratory study reveals the realities of DFV education within Australian tertiary social work programmes and assesses the readiness of graduate social workers to tackle this critical issue post-qualification. We examine how mode and hours of training correlate with improved readiness. We also uncover the crucial role of personal and professional experiences in shaping graduate readiness, with age, gender and exposure to DFV being predictive of graduate readiness. Subsequently, we explore innovative solutions like simulation-based technologies as approaches to aid in bridging the readiness gap of social workers to recognise and respond to DFV. This study sheds light on the current landscape of social work education in Australia and highlights areas for improvement. It is an opportunity to learn how to better equip social work graduates to address the multifaceted challenges of DFV, where innovative technologies and nuanced understandings of DFV pave the way for more prepared and effective social workers.