Family Violence – Preliminary Assessment Tool

Abstract

The Family Violence – Preliminary Assessment Tool (FVPAT) is a standardized, rapid screening instrument designed for authorized professionals to quickly gauge the potential risk of family violence. Developed within a comprehensive risk management framework, this tool facilitates the identification of individuals who are experiencing or perpetrating abuse. It assesses critical risk and vulnerability factors, including history of violence, substance abuse, and severe mental health issues, ultimately informing immediate safety planning and the necessity for detailed risk assessment. The FVPAT functions as the initial gatekeeping measure for a holistic assessment process within the wider risk management system.

Keywords

Family Violence, Domestic Violence, Risk Assessment, Preliminary Screening, Safety Planning, Perpetrator Risk, Victim Vulnerability, Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Lethality Assessment, CRAF, Screening Tool, Violence Prediction.

Authors

Victorian Government, Department of Victorian Communities.

Purpose

The primary function of the Family Violence – Preliminary Assessment Tool (FVPAT) is to operate as an initial, high-level screen within a mandated, broader risk management system, specifically the Common Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) utilized throughout Victoria, Australia. It is essential for equipping frontline professionals—including staff in healthcare, law enforcement, and social services—with a structured, standardized methodology to rapidly determine if an individual is at risk of harm or poses a risk of harm due to family violence.

This preliminary assessment is vital for efficient case triaging. By identifying individuals who present with multiple or high-lethality risk factors, the FVPAT ensures they receive immediate attention and appropriate crisis intervention. The resulting risk stratification directly informs decisions regarding victim safety and dictates whether a more comprehensive and intensive risk assessment and intervention plan must be initiated. The factors assessed are empirically linked to the safety of the individual, their family unit, and the wider community.

Construct

The FVPAT is designed to measure the dynamic, situational construct of Family Violence Risk and Vulnerability. This construct is operationalized by systematically assessing the presence or absence of specific, empirically derived factors known to correlate strongly with the incidence, severity, and potential lethality of domestic abuse. Crucially, the FVPAT differs from measures of stable psychological traits or attitudes by focusing exclusively on observable, historical events and current circumstances that elevate the immediate level of danger.

The assessed risk factors are conceptually grouped into three primary domains of interaction and exposure. These domains guide the assessor in understanding where the risk originates and what factors contribute to the overall threat level: (1) factors related to the Victim (vulnerability factors such as isolation or severe depression); (2) factors related to the Perpetrator (behaviors signaling control, access to weapons, or history of violence); and (3) factors related to the Relationship and Environment (stressors like recent separation or documented escalation in violence frequency or severity). The aggregation of these factors, particularly indicators of high lethality, defines the overall preliminary risk category identified by the screening instrument.

Validity

Formal psychometric validation studies for the FVPAT are typically presented within the context of the larger Victorian Common Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) documentation, which provides its foundational empirical support. The validity of the FVPAT rests heavily on the robust, empirical identification of factors that reliably predict severe harm. For instance, the inclusion of items related to strangulation, access to weapons, and explicit threats to kill is based on extensive research linking these specific behaviors directly to an increased risk of femicide or life-threatening injury.

The tool exhibits strong Face Validity and Content Validity because its items directly reflect established and recognized indicators of severe domestic violence risk. The assessed co-occurring risks, such as substance abuse and severe mental health issues, are well-documented risk amplifiers in family violence contexts, ensuring the tool comprehensively covers the critical domains necessary for accurate preliminary risk stratification and safety planning.

Reliability

As a standardized screening instrument utilizing clear, binary (Yes/No) scoring criteria for observable factors, the FVPAT is engineered to achieve high inter-rater reliability among trained professionals. The successful reliability of the assessment hinges upon the rigorous and consistent application of specific operational definitions for each risk factor by every assessor, regardless of the institutional setting (e.g., police station, hospital, or social service agency).

Given that the FVPAT functions as a structured checklist of historical and current circumstances, the primary goal regarding reliability is ensuring that diverse practitioners consistently and uniformly identify the presence of the same established risk markers. This consistency is essential for accurately initiating the mandated follow-up protocols required under the overall risk assessment framework.

Factor Analysis

While formal factor analysis results specifically for the preliminary tool are generally detailed within the context of the comprehensive framework documentation (CRAF), the instrument is conceptually structured around three distinct, yet interacting, domains of risk exposure and behavior. These domains function as the tool’s latent factors, guiding item development and interpretation:

• Victim Vulnerability Factors: These items capture the victim’s current life circumstances, psychological state, and social isolation that may increase their susceptibility to severe harm.
• Perpetrator High-Risk Behaviors: This factor aggregates items related to the history, severity, and intent of the aggressor’s violence, particularly behaviors that are known to signal an increased risk of lethality (e.g., strangulation, threats to kill).
• Relationship and Environmental Factors: This grouping accounts for external stressors, relationship dynamics, and situational changes that significantly exacerbate the potential for violence, such as recent separation or documented financial strain.

Instrument

Test Type: Standardized Risk Screening Instrument

Format: Structured Interview/Checklist (Binary response: Yes/No)

Language Available: English (Original version developed in Australia)

Population Group: Individuals involved in or at risk of family violence incidents (Victims and Alleged Perpetrators).

Age Group: Adults (Relevant for relationship and parenting contexts).

Population Details: Primarily utilized in community, judicial, and health settings across Victoria, Australia, as part of the mandated Common Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF).

Test Methodology: Assessor-completed checklist based on information gathered from the individual, clinical observation, and collateral sources. The tool is designed to provide rapid initial risk stratification, necessitating further, deeper assessment if positive indicators are present.

Keywords

CRAF, Lethality Assessment, Domestic Abuse, Safety Planning, Mental Health Issues, Risk Factors, Screening Tool, Violence Prediction.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Applicable (Developed by Government Entity)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Specified

Correspondence Address: Department of Victorian Communities, Melbourne, Australia (2007)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Family Violence – Preliminary Assessment tool was formalized and published as an integral component of the Victorian Government’s Family Violence: Risk Assessment and Risk Management framework documentation in 2007. As a government-mandated public health and safety instrument under the CRAF, access to the tool itself is generally provided free of charge.

However, its use is strictly restricted to trained professionals operating within the relevant legislative and policy frameworks established by the Victorian Government. Any individual or organization seeking permissions for utilization outside of this specific jurisdiction or mandated framework must secure formal authorization from the responsible Victorian Government department.

Reference’s

• Victorian Government. (2007). Family Violence: Risk Assessment and Risk Management. Melbourne: Department of Victorian Communities. (Source URL: http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/home)
• The original PDF documentation for the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (2007) can be downloaded here: Family violence- Risk assessment and risk management (PDF)
• Framework and Practice Guides 1-3 PDF: Family Violence- Risk Assessment and Risk Management: Framework and Practice Guides 1-3 (PDF)
• Participant Handbook Practice Guide 2 PDF: Family Violence- Risk Assessment and Risk Management: Participant Handbook Practice Guide 2 (PDF)
• Participant Handbook Practice Guide 3 PDF: Family Violence- Risk Assessment for Specialist Family Violence Workers: Participant Handbook Practice Guide 3 (PDF)
• Review of the Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (CRAF) DOC: Review of the Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (CRAF)

Items of the Family Violence – Preliminary Assessment Tool

Risk or vulnerability factor

Victim

• Pregnancy/new birth*
• Depression/ mental health issue
• Drug and/or alcohol misuse/abuse
• Has ever verbalised or had suicidal ideas or tried to commit suicide
• Isolation

Perpetrator

• Use of weapon in most recent event*
• Access to weapons*
• Has ever harmed or threatened to harm victim
• Has ever tried to choke the victim*
• Has ever threatened to kill victim*
• Has ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill children*
• Has ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill other family members
• Has ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill pets or other animals*
• Has ever threatened or tried to commit suicide*
• Stalking of victim*
• Sexual assault of victim*
• Previous or current breach of intervention order
• Drug and/or alcohol misuse/abuse*
• Obsession/jealous behaviour toward victim*
• Controlling behaviour*
• Unemployed*
• Depression/mental health issue#
• History of violent behaviour (not family violence)

Relationship

• Recent separation*
• Escalation – increase in severity and/or frequency of violence*
• Financial difficulties

* May indicate an increased risk of the victim being killed or almost killed.

# Mental health issues such as depression and paranoid psychosis, which focuses on the victim as hostile, are high risk factors when they are present in conjunction with other risk factors, particularly a previous history of violence.

Presence of factor: Yes, No