Overview of the 2009 MFR Forum

The 2009 4th National MFR Forum was a great success. This event was held in conjunction with the Aboriginal Men’s Health Convention and the National Men’s Health Conference. Over 460 delegates participated in the whole gathering with over 160 presentations. Nearly 200 of those people attended the National Men and Family Relationship Forum.  

The MFR Forum (1998, 2004, 2007 and 2009) is a significant opportunity to understand, appreciate and benchmark the practice of working with men and family relationships (MFR) in Australia. Appreciation is given to sponsors- the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), Anglicare WA, MensLine Australia (Crisis Support Services) and the sponsors of the overall Gathering.

The Forum’s theme was Language, landscape, engagement and responses. Over the next few years, the MFR sector will be impacted by the need to provide more integrated services with the emergence of the new Family Support Program within FaHCSIA. It will also be impacted by our responsiveness to major social issues within the community, like domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.

A summary of the issues discussed at the Forum follows:

Integrated programs

• Importance of men accessing antenatal sessions followed by specific workshop days for dads
• Partner with a disability service to provide support group for dads of kids with a disability
• Improved services that support post partom (natal) depression in women and men. There is a need for integrated service delivery through the medical and relationship service areas to help men to support themselves, their partners and their children from pre birth right through this demanding and amazing journey of man and fatherhood
• Improved range of supports for carers and for services to better engage men and dads
• More connections between groups/organisations that support families – keep it outcome focused
• Better connection between Health and MFR programs. Need to refine Father Inclusive Practice (FIP) – focussing on early intervention and promoting (not demanding) responsibility for self
• Choice about location for services to be provided, focus on engaging new dads, emphasis on valuing of fatherhood. Use outdoor spaces as well

Stronger partnerships

• Stronger partnerships and connections with Men’s Health and Indigenous services
• Stronger partnerships between programs/organisations to provide better and relevant services for men in local areas
• Provision of a wider range of programs to reduce DV – focus on good fathering, impact that DV has on children, respectful relationships programs, utilise strengths based models, use more experiential models (not just cognitive approaches), provision of programs for men who are victims of DV, use highly skilled facilitators and wider focus on emotional regulation
• Develop stronger interagency cooperation and processes to engage men, women and children to address family violence situations
• Use the FIP Guide to develop local partnerships and sustainable programs to best respond to the wide range of issues men have in a community
• Importance of increasing sexuality education in schools, its importance, being there as a dad and being an example to your children and the importance of respect
• Use partnership approaches to develop services that engage young men where they are at, using a workplace orientation
• Support men in their transition from Correctional Centres back into the community. Practice has indicated the importance of strengths based programs, always using informal, first-name terms and a familial relationship orientated approach and linking the work of fatherhood
• Improved responses for reducing men’s suicide rate when their relationships breakdown. More direct referrals and personal recommendation is required for health professionals in local communities.

 Mentoring – peer development approaches

• Importance of perceived equality, ownership of change, use of choices and talking through consequences
• Emphasis is on normalising access to programs and hearing how men deal with important issues – builds stronger vision of what it means to be male. Creates  new cultural definition and expectation and what men already do and value
• Use of photo images to normalise and value unspoken men’s behaviour and aspirations
• Drop ‘the all men are…’ approach in DV context. Need to use wisdom on what changes men. We need more family based ways to respond to DV without comprising safety (especially in CALD and Indigenous situations
• Support training and supervision for men who work in the sector as a new career path or due to their own life experiences

Normalising access to and engagement in programs

• Development of more resources that normalise and value the impact men have in their relationships
• Need for ideas on how to market these resources
• Ensure models and approaches are also relevant to men in same-sex and other family type situations (grandparents caring for grandchildren)
• Integrate and use existing resources i.e. those developed by RA, MensLine Australia, CSA, FaHCSIA, Centacare, Interrelate, Beyond blue etc
• Us of the web to engage and support new dads. The web can be used as a safe space for men to explore their role as fathers and the issues around them.

Relationship rich

• 70% of men who use violence fit the ‘family man’ profile – change is possible and probable
• Build on the centrality of relationships in  men’s lives and how men best influence their world and are influenced by others (however they define it)

Special appreciation is given to the Forum Organising Committee who include Steve Hackett ( Family Relationship Services Australia, National); Ross Fletcher (Fathers’ Support Service, Burnside, NSW); Steve Sutton (Psychologist, NSW); Stuart Anderson (Men & Family Centre, NSW); David Prendergast (Child Support Agency, NSW); Ray McMinn (Department of Education and Training, NSW); Laurence Anderson (Dads in Distress Support Services, VIC); Tina Douvos-Stathopoulos (Australian Greek Welfare Society, VIC); Chaz McVeigh (Menstime - Anglicare, WA); Dean  Olafsen (Counsellor, QLD); Joe Fleming (University of Tasmania, TAS); Phil Watts (Family Insight, NSW); Kris Robertson (Agencies for South West Accommodation Inc, WA); Andrew King (Mensline Australia, National).

Andrew King

Men’s Services Manager

MensLine Australia

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