General practitioners, community health services, hospitals and other health settings are often sites of trusted help for people – most commonly women – who are vulnerable to or experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV). Yet the issues arising for those experiencing DFV commonly extend far beyond their health. They include legal issues ranging from the need for violence protection orders to assistance with family separation, housing and money problems.
Health justice partnership embeds lawyers in healthcare settings and teams. It is a strategy to provide accessible, timely legal help to people experiencing the complex array of issues surrounding DFV, while supporting health service capability to act as an effective pathway to support.
This paper describes health justice partnership as an integrated response to DFV: what partnerships currently look like, where they are found, who they support, and what they offer partner agencies, practitioners and their clients. Noting health justice partnership as an emerging model, there is more to test and learn about the placement, design and value of health justice partnerships in different health service settings; and how they integrate with the broader DFV service landscape. As service delivery is reassessed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we identify the opportunity to explore health justice partnership as a tool to provide accessible, safe, client-centred and holistic support for those experiencing DFV.
