Know, Ask, Do …. Lessons from
practice for preventing Filicide
Jo Cavanagh OAM CEO
Overview
1. Assumption - Filicide can be prevented. Model based on belief we can
identify those with the intention and stop them acting on their intention.
2. International Research - a profile of context and individual
characteristics emerges.
3. Survey and practitioner focus group findings Who successfully
identifies such situations and individuals now? How? What do they do?
4. Bringing together research and practice expertise to form a social and
behavioural change model to use at community, family and systems levels.
Know this ... Ask this .... Do this .....
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Assumption - Filicide can be prevented
It is not about knowing who will do it (false assumption)….
rather …
What are the facts about circumstances in which it is known to have
occurred …. Know …
Identify the circumstances, context, stressors present and what support the
individual has …. Ask
Make a judgement call and act to protect & create safety…. Do
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Research Brown & Tyson 2014
Key findings
1. Complex interplay of factors like mental illness, drug & alcohol
abuse in a context of separation and relationship breakdown.
2. Learning from complexity theory informs how we
can apply the research findings ………
……….‘helps but doesn’t guarantee success”
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Complexity Theory Brenda Zimmerman
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Apply this to complex stressors
impacting on an individuals behaviour?
How the stressors are interacting to lead
to a negative and lethal focus
– the attractor….killing
Relationship and interplay is more
important than the individual parts
Not a set pattern …
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Creating attractor pull and reinforcement to increase certainty
for individual and cultural change
Malcolm Gladwell
“Tipping point”
“Outliers”
Seat belts
Quit smoking
Public Health models
Neuroscience and
Behaviour Change
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Recap ..Research Brown et al 2014
Key findings
1.
Complex interplay of factors like mental illness, drug & alcohol abuse in a context of
separation and relationship breakdown. It’s a complex problem.
2. Why do they do it? No common reason …..
Its not a simple or complicated problem … no formula …. Not necessarily
“in the system”…may or may not be a history of family violence.
Search for knowing stops us from hearing and seeing … Like complexity
the picture emerges …. Lose assumptions that we know (myths) to
absorb the facts and change our approach.
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Research into practice + systems change
Fact: Most (2/3) of the children are not known to child protection
The perpetrators do use a number of services in the 12 months prior to the events
most commonly health services (GPs and Psychiatric services) as a vast majority of
the perpetrators suffer from diagnosed mental illness, commonly depression.
Emerging a Prevention proposal ….
 Screening for risk of filicide needs to occur within the health
services.
 Intervention to protect and create safety requires family
services
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It’s complex!! It’s about families ***
Research Facts: The deaths seem to be the result of a
number of stresses occurring together.
The stress constellation varied according to the
perpetrator’s family status.***
Fathers and mothers and step-fathers experience depression.
Fathers and mothers and step-fathers experience parental separation
Domestic violence had a subtle influence – different for mothers and (step) fathers
Substance abuse was as common as DV.
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Families, relationships and complexity

Complex interplay of factors like mental illness, drug & alcohol abuse in a context of separation
and relationship breakdown. Learning from complexity theory

Why do they do it? No common reason ….. Its not a simple or complicated problem … no
formula …. Not necessarily “in the system”…may or may not be a history of family violence.
 Separation and relationship breakdown is a shared stressor. What are the
compounding factors in separation and relationship breakdown? Eg financial stress, grief and
loss, loss of friends and peers, social isolation, homelessness, unemployment,
Separation is a complex social, economic, legal and personal process
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Review – changing our mindset
Get the right players engaged

Assumption - Filicide can be prevented. Model based on belief we can identify those with
the intention and stop them acting on their intention.
Requires a change of professional, family and community mindsets

International Research - a profile of context and individual characteristics emerges.
It’s layers of complexity – personal, social and economic stressors
3. Survey and practitioner focus group findings Who successfully identifies such
situations and individuals now? How? What do they do?
4. Bringing together research and practice expertise to form a social and
behavioural change model to use at community, family and systems levels.
Know this ... Ask this .... Do this .....
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Family Life What do we do?
From elevator speech to digital storytelling …
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What can we learn from Family Practitioners?
There were 52 practitioner respondents
For analysis, participants grouped as:
Federal Family Support – Family Law jurisdiction 21
Families and Communities – State Child Protection jurisdiction 31
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Family practitioners working
with Child Protection
Family Practitioners
Working with Family Law
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Who talks about “filicide” ?????
Approximately 1 in 3 (31%) respondents did not know what filicide was,
including:
39% of respondents from Federal Family Support services and
29% of respondents from Families and Communities services
BUT they all know about adult and context risks to child safety!!
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All Practitioners knew about the complexity
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Jurisdictional differences minimal in practice.
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Practitioner identification
18% (n=9) of respondents had identified a parent to be at risk
of committing filicide
In the past year, 5 practitioners (9%) had identified a parent to
be at risk of filicide including:
1 Families and Communities practitioner identified a mother
3 Families and Communities practitioners identified both a mother and father
1 Federal Family Support practitioner estimated he/she had identified approximately 5 fathers
What difference does child protection or family law context of practice make?
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What to ask and what to do – screening, assessment and action
Most helpful questions
Direct ask –
Have you ever thought of harming your child?
Indirect probe
Do you enjoy being a parent?
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Post screening and assessment action.
Making a safety first judgement call.
What action do/would you take if you assessed a parent to be at risk of committing filicide?
45 practitioners responded to this question.
Make external referrals
82% (n=37) stated that they would report or discuss their assessment with Child Protection,
with an additional 3 using the term “the appropriate authorities”.
36% (n=16) that they would involve the Police, with two practitioners making direct reference to
Taskforce Alexis
27% (n=12) stated that they would develop safety plans
31% (n=14) stated they would refer the affected parent to a tertiary mental health service such
as the CATT or for ongoing counselling
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Knowledge to Action
Knowledge to action (KTA) cycle
(Source: Graham et al., 2006).
GRIGORESCU ET AL.
Implementation Science and the
Pregnancy Risk Assessment
Monitoring System PRAMS
Journal of Women’s Health
Vol 23 Number 12, 2014:p 990
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Knowledge into practice improvements
Training – strong links seen to
suicide prevention training
Risk assessment specifying filicide
– build on family violence
screening
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Systems change recommendations
Collaboration and communication between
professional and organisations
Shared data systems between health,
police, family services as well as
child protection and courts.
Public awareness “Come with Daddy”
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Viral change for prevention
How do we share the knowledge to
prevent filicide and create change for
community and professionals to know
about the problem, ask the right questions
and spark action to create safety and
Prevent filicide?
Lessons from multiple disciplines to go
viral through digital
intelligence and technology
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“Memes – the new replicators”
Richard Dawkins, ``The Selfish Gene'‘ First published 1976 ….tunes, ideas, catch phrases,
……memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain ….
Malcolm Gladwell “Tipping Point” Connectors, networkers and sales people –
how fads and fashions take off….
Chip Heath “Ideas that stick” 2007 To change someone’s way of thinking an
idea needs to cross boundaries to persist over time, to change behaviour.
“Switch” Direct the rider (rational side – Attractor - script) Motivate the Elephant
(emotional side – reassurance, bite size wins, hope) Shape the Path
(the situation – easy habits – herd follows the leader – behaviour is contagious)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmmwWxVzSsw
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Professional & community engagement
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Professional & community engagement
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Community & Family prevention
KNOW that parents in distress can kill their children.
KNOW they need your help NOW
ASK about thoughts and feelings and who is helping them
ASK them to promise not to hurt themselves or others.
DO raise the alarm NOW.
DO get professional & family support
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GP and Mental Health prevention
KNOW that PARENTS with Depression & family distress may
be a risk to their (ex) partner and children called Filicide.
ASK about separation & family breakdown and who is helping them
ASK them about thoughts of harming themselves or others.
DO confirm relationship breakdown is distressing &
help is needed & available.
DO make a professional family services referral NOW
& alert family members or safety authorities.
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How precious are our children
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Call to Action??
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