Day 5: Children and young people
Understanding and addressing the impact of domestic, family and sexual violence on children and young people is essential to developing recommendations which are capable of delivering the generational change required to bring an end to that violence.
This day of public hearings will focus on recognising children and young people as victim-survivors in their own right and on understanding what children and young people need to thrive.
Transcript - Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Morning session - from 9.30am
How domestic, family and sexual violence affects children and young people
Professor Leah Bromfield is an internationally recognised and award-winning researcher and leader in the field of child abuse and neglect, child sexual abuse and issues affecting child protection systems.
She is Director for the Australian Centre for Child Protection, and the impacts of her research, support of government reform, and assistance to Inquiries and Royal Commissions has been profound with lasting national and international changes to law, policy, and practice.
Leah’s achievements were recently acknowledged when she was named 2025 Australian of the Year for South Australia, and a finalist in the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards.
Therapeutic programs for children and young people
Chloe Henderson
Chloe is a passionate Senior Manager and Social Worker with extensive experience in government and not-for-profit sectors, specialising in child protection. Chloe is the current Manager of Children’s Services Partnerships at Relationships Australia SA. Known for her restorative leadership approach and systems thinking mindset, she emphasizes emotional intelligence, mindfulness, honesty, humility, and trust-building in her work. Chloe is a strong advocate for social justice, and children’s voice, and her proven ability to drive change spans across staff, teams, children, families, foster parents, and communities. With core values of integrity and courage, she leads with a focus on creating better outcomes through strategic decision-making and a commitment to innovation.
Chloe holds an MBA specialising in Social Impact from UNSW, where she explored the intersection of business, government, and the not-for-profit sector in creating sustainable, shared value. A qualified social worker, her practice is grounded in restorative, child-centred and inclusive practice, strengths-based, and family-led approaches, underpinned by knowledge of attachment theory, systems thinking, and the neuroscience of caregiving. Chloe acknowledges the cultural foundations of her work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions and is committed to cultural fitness.
Sarah Decrea
Sarah Decrea is a proud Zendeth Kes woman and a dedicated team leader in trauma-informed and culturally responsive work with children and families. As the Executive Manager of Children’s Services at RASA, she provides clinical support, supervision, and training, ensuring services empower children and families especially Aboriginal children and families a while fostering pride in culture.
With over a decade of experience as a therapeutic practitioner specialising in attachment, Sarah has led the development of early intervention services for families involved in the child protection system. She has played a pivotal role in reshaping statutory and community-based services in South Australia to incorporate family-led decision-making, aiming to reduce the number of Aboriginal children entering out-of-home care.
Afternoon session - from 2pm
The role of SA Health in providing a response to children and young people who have experienced domestic, family and sexual violence
Heather Baron is currently a Senior Policy Program Manager in the Child Protection and Policy Unit at the Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health, where projects deliver child protection policy, strategic planning and service reform, bringing child safety into focus across SA Health. In this role, Heather led the development of the SA Health Child Protection Services statewide model of care.
With a background as an allied health clinician in speech pathology, Heather is an experienced leader who has worked across a variety of roles in community and hospital settings in the public health system for over 35 years.
Heather has a master’s degree in health services management and is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management.
Rachel Kirby, former General Manager, Community Services, currently Acting Director, Child and Family Health Service
Melissa John, Director, Women’s and Children’s Health Network Child Protection Service
Thriving Families – A generational vision of how to improve outcomes for children, young people and families
Rhiannon is a senior research fellow in the School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, South Australia, as a part of the BetterStart Health and Development research group led by Professor John Lynch. She is an epidemiologist with expertise in translational research, data analytics, and linked administrative data.
Her research focuses on improving the evidence that informs how we can ensure every child, young person and family receives the support they need.
Rhiannon works with government and non-government organisations across Australia, using their data to bring a public health perspective to service design and delivery for populations experiencing different forms of disadvantage.
