Introduction: Why Stories Matter
Policies and strategies set the stage, but it’s the voices of people with lived experience — survivors, frontline advocates, workplace champions — that bring the issue of domestic and family violence (DFV) into sharp human focus.
In recent years, Australia has shifted towards survivor-informed approaches. Reports like Unlocking the Prevention Potential from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) emphasise that prevention is not abstract; it is grounded in lived realities, collective accountability, and the courage to listen differently.
In this blog, we weave together insights from survivor-informed practice, client learnings, and leadership experiences to explore how workplaces can “unlock” their prevention potential.
Part 1: What Survivor-Informed Practice Looks Like
Survivor-informed practice goes beyond consultation. It’s about sharing power — ensuring the systems designed to protect and support are shaped by the people most affected.
In workplace settings, survivor-informed practice means:
- Policies written with survivor input to avoid harmful assumptions.
- Training developed alongside people who know first-hand what disclosure feels like.
- Feedback loops that keep survivor voices central in review and improvement.
As the PMC report highlights, prevention efforts are stronger when “those with lived experience are not tokenised, but are trusted as knowledge-holders and leaders.”
Part 2: Stories from Workplaces — What We’re Learning
At Capyble, we’ve seen a recurring theme: workplaces often underestimate their role as a protective factor. For many employees experiencing DFV, work is the one place they feel some autonomy and safety. Yet, disclosure remains rare unless culture shifts.
A composite example from our client base:
- An employee in hospitality, juggling shifts and study, experienced coercive control at home. For months, she silently endured until her roster was changed without her input, which created new safety risks. When her workplace finally introduced confidential DFV support officers, she disclosed — not because of policy on paper, but because she trusted the people representing it.
These stories remind us that policies become real when backed by relationships of trust.
Part 3: My Founder Story — Why This Matters to Me
(Here, you might personalise with your founder story — for example:)
My journey into this work began not in boardrooms but through conversations with people navigating violence and trying to keep their jobs. I witnessed the profound toll of silence and the extraordinary resilience of those who, despite trauma, showed up to work each day.
Founding Capyble was about closing the gap between good intentions and lived reality. I wanted to help workplaces move beyond compliance and build cultures where people feel safe enough to say, “I need help.”
Part 4: Survivor Lessons on Prevention
Survivor voices consistently highlight prevention lessons that organisations can apply:
- Respect autonomy: Don’t pressure disclosure or dictate “solutions.” Ask, “What would be most helpful for you right now?”
- Beware assumptions: Survivors may remain in contact with the perpetrator for complex reasons — safety, children, financial dependence. Policies must accommodate this reality.
- Safety over efficiency: Quick fixes (e.g., reassigning roles without consent) can inadvertently increase risk. Safety planning must be collaborative.
- Visibility matters: Survivors notice when leaders speak up about DFV. Silence from leadership sends the wrong message.
Part 5: From Individual Stories to Organisational Change
When survivor voices shape strategy, prevention efforts become more than compliance. They shift the culture.
For example, Unlocking the Prevention Potential stresses multi-level prevention — individual, organisational, and systemic. Workplaces can be powerful prevention partners by:
- Embedding DFV awareness into WHS frameworks.
- Partnering with specialist organisations to co-design training.
- Publicly committing to survivor-centred practice as part of ESG/CSR strategies.
The key is moving from ad hoc responses to structured, ongoing investment in cultural change.
Part 6: Bridging Lived Experience and Leadership
Leaders sometimes ask: How do we responsibly bring survivor voices into workplace strategy without tokenism?
The answer lies in ethical engagement:
- Offer choice and control in how survivors contribute.
- Pay survivors for their time and expertise.
- Provide support before, during, and after involvement to prevent retraumatisation.
- Ensure feedback leads to visible changes — not performative consultation.
When handled well, these partnerships humanise prevention and anchor leadership decisions in lived reality.
Part 7: A Future Where Disclosure Isn’t Brave
Imagine a workplace where disclosing DFV isn’t an act of extraordinary courage but a simple, supported step — as normalised as requesting parental leave.
This vision requires:
- Leaders who model vulnerability and openness.
- Colleagues who are trained as active bystanders.
- Policies that guarantee confidentiality and protect careers.
- Survivor-informed systems that evolve with feedback.
Unlocking prevention potential means embedding these conditions so deeply that disclosure is not rare, but routine and safe.
Conclusion: The Power of Listening Differently
Stories from the field remind us that prevention begins not with policy documents but with listening differently. Survivors know what works. Their voices cut through theory and remind us why this matters.
When organisations elevate survivor-informed practice, they create cultures that are not only safer but also more inclusive, resilient, and compassionate.
Prevention potential is not unlocked by compliance checklists — it’s unlocked when we centre the voices that too often go unheard.
