TACKLING VIOLENCE EVALUATION WOMEN NSW FINAL REPORT 21 OCTOBER 2019 Final report Tackling Violence evaluation Acknowledgments This work was completed with the assistance of staff from Women NSW of the Department of Communities and Justice and the NSW Education Centre Against Violence. We would also like to thank the many players and club leaders from the six participating rugby league clubs we visited, as well as other key community, service provider and program- level stakeholders. We thank them for their time and insights and trust that their views are adequately represented in this report. ARTD consultancy team Fiona Christian, Sue Leahy, Ruby Leahy Gatfield, Samantha Joseph, Jack Cassidy, Holly Kovac, Kieran Sobels and Pravin Siriwardena ARTD Pty Ltd Level 4, 352 Kent St Sydney ABN 75 003 701 764 PO Box 1167 Tel 02 9373 9900 Queen Victoria Building Fax 02 9373 9998 NSW 1230 Australia Final report Tackling Violence evaluation Contents Executive summary................................................................................................................. vi 1. The program ................................................................................................................. 14 1.1 The policy context.......................................................................................................................... 14 1.2 The program .................................................................................................................................... 14 2. The evaluation .............................................................................................................. 16 2.1 Purpose .............................................................................................................................................. 16 2.2 Scope and focus ............................................................................................................................. 16 2.3 Key questions .................................................................................................................................. 16 2.4 Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 17 2.5 Confidence in the findings ......................................................................................................... 23 3. Program design ............................................................................................................ 25 3.1 Evolution of the program model ............................................................................................. 25 3.2 Evidence supporting the program model ............................................................................ 28 3.3 Situating Tackling Violence in the public health framework ......................................... 34 4. Program management ................................................................................................. 36 4.1 Managing program delivery ...................................................................................................... 36 4.2 Regional models of program delivery.................................................................................... 40 5. Program participation and reach ............................................................................... 43 5.1 Program participation .................................................................................................................. 43 5.2 Program reach ................................................................................................................................. 46 6. Program implementation ............................................................................................ 51 6.1 Club sponsorship and the Code of Conduct ....................................................................... 51 6.2 Education sessions......................................................................................................................... 60 6.3 Community awareness ................................................................................................................. 68 6.4 Referrals and support arrangements ...................................................................................... 72 7. Program impact ............................................................................................................ 76 7.1 The context ....................................................................................................................................... 76 7.2 Impact on individuals ................................................................................................................... 79 7.3 Impact on clubs .............................................................................................................................. 83 7.4 Impact on the wider community .............................................................................................. 84 8. Conclusions and recommendations ........................................................................... 90 8.1 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 90 8.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 91 9. Monitoring and evaluation framework ..................................................................... 95 9.1 Monitoring and evaluation framework .................................................................................. 95 Appendix 1. Participating clubs .................................................................................. 103 iii Final report Tackling Violence evaluation Tables and figures Tables Table 1. Key evaluation questions ............................................................................................................. 16 Table 2. Data collection ................................................................................................................................. 19 Table 3. Public health approach to preventing violence ................................................................... 34 Table 4. Length of time that 2017 and 2018 participating clubs were involved ...................... 44 Table 5. Club sponsorship status, 2017 and 2018 ............................................................................... 45 Table 6. Club remoteness by postcode, 2017 and 2018 ................................................................... 46 Table 7. Club SEIFA decile (postcode), 2017 and 2018 ...................................................................... 49 Table 8. Education sessions delivered in 2017 and 2018 .................................................................. 60 Table 9. Education session participants by cultural status ............................................................... 61 Table 10. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants by remoteness, .............................. 62 Table 11. Education session participants by gender ............................................................................. 63 Table 12. Education session participants by gender ............................................................................. 63 Table 13. 2018 participant evaluation form data ................................................................................... 80 Table 14. 2018 participant evaluation form data ................................................................................... 81 Table 15. Tackling Violence outcomes matrix ......................................................................................... 99 Table 16. Participating clubs in 2017 and 2018 ................................................................................... 103 Figures Figure 1. Tackling Violence LGAs and prevalence of DFV-related assault in LGAs ................... 47 Figure 2. Tackling Violence LGAs and the proportion of people with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage by LGA .................................................................................... 48 Figure 3. Prevalence of DV-related assault in Tackling Violence LGAs, 2001-2018 ................. 86 Figure 4. Situating M&E frameworks ......................................................................................................... 95 Figure 5. Tackling Violence outcomes hierarchy ................................................................................... 97 iv Final report Tackling Violence evaluation Abbreviations and acronyms ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ADVO Apprehended Domestic Violence Order CRL Country Rugby League DFV Domestic and family violence DCJ Department of Communities and Justice ECAV NSW Health Education Centre Against Violence NRL National Rugby League WNSW Women NSW BOCSAR NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research LGA Local Government Area v Final report Tackling Violence evaluation Executive summary The Tackling Violence program Tackling Violence is a community education, early intervention and prevention program funded by Women NSW and delivered by the NSW Education Centre Against Violence (ECAV). It aims to ‘reduce the incidence of domestic and family violence (DFV) by building knowledge and awareness about DFV and promoting positive attitudes and behaviours towards women through engagement with Rugby League Clubs.’1 The