Supporting family violence lived experience research.
We are quietly thrilled to announce that this week, Kristel Krella was awarded a scholarship from The Graduate Women Victoria Scholarship Program (Feminist Father’s Bursary)—a $5,000 award to assist her through her PhD candidature. This is one of a range of scholarships and bursaries for women studying at Victorian universities who have experienced, or are currently facing, disadvantage.
Kristel Krella’s shared the following response to receiving the scholarship.
Through a difficult family environment growing up, my academic performance and abilities were adversely impacted; however, my studies at school and university also became a constructive outlet, and a means to cope with my unpredictable surroundings. Over time, this has evolved into a passion for supporting and empowering others in similar circumstances.
My PhD is part of a project funded by the Australian Research Council and led by my primary supervisor and Principal Investigator, Professor Jenn McIntosh. The project is a collaboration between La Trobe University, Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA), and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCoA), with a shared goal of improving outcomes for families involved in the family law system—an area that involves considerable risk and has profound implications for family safety.
Through in-depth interviews, my research is gathering and examining the lived experience perspectives of women and children affected by Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) on contexts that led to an increase in safety across a year after entry to Court. These insights aim to inform the broader ARC project and contribute valuable knowledge about the family and systemic factors that promote safety in this context.
DFV has not only touched my family but has been a pervasive factor affecting families in every professional position I have held. I feel strongly about giving a platform to the voices and lived experiences of this vulnerable group, ensuring their perspectives are at the heart of future prevention and intervention efforts. With the ongoing scaffolding of my wonderful supervisors, this award will allow me to deeply engage with and enrich my research. It will allow for important personal and professional opportunities, in my overall journey towards healing, and making a difference in the lives of others.
The Bouverie Centre works intentionally to maintain a culture of safety, including personal care and guidance to our higher degree students and researchers, whose work involves engaging deeply in stories of family distress and trauma, in order to discover pathways of recovery.
We continue to actively study family violence, to train the field in violence awareness and relational approaches to trauma intervention, and to assist families who attend our statewide- family therapy service, who have experienced intra-familial violence. See our position statement on Family Violence [PDF 148.1 KB].
