Practitioners input into new MARAM victim survivor practice guidance

The MARAM Victim Survivor Practice Guidance will support workers and organisations to better understand their responsibilities to undertake family violence risk assessment and management and work with and coordinate across the service system to provide relevant and timely support to victim survivors.

Staff involved in the user testing included family violence specialist workers, intake and assessment workers, case managers, practice leaders, men’s workers, child and family practitioners and crisis support advocates.

Working across four sites, they were given three weeks to use and test the draft practice guides and assessment tools relevant to their role to determine the accuracy, useability and practical application of the MARAM practice guides.

Their feedback was very positive, with staff saying the guidance would result in improved safety and more positive outcomes for victim survivors, including children.

One participant said: ‘Children have been long forgotten victim survivors, but this brings them right to the front and that is important’.

Participants also noted that the practice guidance has enhanced workers confidence in asking assessment questions and has allowed for more in-depth and informed responses from victim-survivors, resulting in the earlier identification of risk and the actioning of risk management strategies to support and ensure the safety of victim survivors. 

MARAM aims to establish a system-wide understanding of family violence. The practice guides will equip workers and organisations with knowledge and skills to understand the broad range of experiences and spectrum and presentations of risk. This will support consistent risk assessment and management practice across the service system as well as better coordination across services to ensure victim survivors are safe and recover from violence.

The MARAM practice guides will be accompanied by a range of implementation supports that will support organisations to embed MARAM into practice, including MARAM training.

Find MARAM Practice Guidance

More than 800 organisations are now prescribed under the MARAM.