A trusted leader in health and welfare data analysis
Partnering with experts to enhance national family domestic and sexual violence reporting
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) is recognised as a national leader in analysing and reporting national data on Family Domestic and Sexual Violence (FDSV). We work collaboratively with expert groups and organisations to undertake this work.
This year, we also partnered with a group of ‘experts by experience’ – the co-design team of Women and their children who have experienced Abuse and ViolEnce: Researchers and advisors (WEAVERs) – to add lived experience expertise to the AIHW’s quantitative reporting for the first time.
In a collaborative effort with our stakeholders, we developed a website designed to enhance the understanding of FDSV and support better policy and service-delivery decisions.
The updated website incorporates the following features:
- Written contributions from people with lived experience of FDSV throughout the topic pages. These contributions help to make the information more meaningful, channelling the focus on data and statistics through the experiences of real people. The WEAVERs developed this material as high-level commentary to accompany the data. They also advised on how best to use their contributions across AIHW reporting – such as suggesting topic areas that would be most relevant, and the structure and format that would be most suitable.
- Design elements that improve our ability to display key findings from the data in an infographic format. The infographic format is an effective tool for presenting information that is concise, visually appealing and accessible to a wider range of users. Infographics are more successful in enticing users to engage with the website and can also be used to break up text-heavy content.
- Topic spotlight boxes positioned on the FDSV homepage that draws readers attention to new findings or timely information.
- Related material boxes at the end of each topic page that allow users to navigate to related content. This increases the visibility of related research and material available on the platform, allowing users to further explore topics.
To further enhance the user experience, some WEAVERs participated in the user-testing phase of development and gave feedback on design, usability, and appropriateness of language and visual material.
Our partnership with the WEAVERs was a success because our approach to working with them was collaborative, meaningful, and respectful of the team’s diverse skills and knowledge. We have received very positive commentary from our stakeholders about the updates to the website.
The website can be accessed at Family, domestic and sexual violence.