Kieran Murphy wants to bring the scourge of domestic and family violence into the light and CQUniversity’s Graduate Certificate in Facilitating Men’s Behaviour Change is helping him achieve that goal.

Kieran said his passion to create change in gendered violence motivated him to enrol.

“This goes straight to my own gendered identity as a son, brother, husband, dad and peer,” he said.

“Choosing CQUni specifically was almost a no brainer, with the content, mode of online delivery and reputation all lining up nicely.

Specialisations in gendered violence at the tertiary level are hard to come by and having one that’s as well supported as this course is great.

“The course is a data driven, heavily researched and experientially informed by the fact that mostly women are victims of violence perpetrated by mostly men.

Within both my chosen fields of work as well as my personal life, advocating wherever I can to change this fact is core to my values.

Dragging the conversation around gendered violence into the light is a societal need and one everyone needs to support, regardless of identity.”

Having worked in child protection, counselling, disabilities, parenting and families, Kieran found family and domestic or gendered violence to be a label central to many people’s core traumas.

“Accordingly, gaining further insight into the complexities of gendered violence was something I considered a necessary step for my own practice framework and in supporting those in need,” he said.

“The course gave me a language and a confidence to address the layers of influences on men who use violence.

Some of the conversations I had with men in group and the feedback from my Woman’s Advocate colleagues are the most vulnerable and meaningful I have been privileged to be a part of.”

As a practitioner, Kieran said he sometimes experienced incidents that required support and he was grateful to learn from other experienced practitioners.

“At such a time CQUni was very supportive in assessment deadlines and overall provision of support.

Having fellow practitioners directly delivering the course work made lot of the support I received an enriching experience,” he said.

“If you are serious in having a career working in violence, studying the language, bias’s, assumptions and lived experiences offered by the Graduate Certificate will equip you really well.”

Visit https://www.cqu.edu.au/courses/domestic-family-violence-studies to find out more about the course.