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Sibling violence is an under-researched field, and the impact of adolescent family violence (AFV) in particular on siblings is not yet well understood. The Australian study Investigating Adolescent Family Violence in Victoria elicited responses from siblings who had experienced AFV from their brothers or sisters, as well as reflections from parents and practitioners on the difficulties of addressing AFV directed towards siblings. This article explores characteristics of sibling violence identified in this study, impacts of the violence on siblings, parents, and families, and responses to sibling violence in Victoria, Australia. Siblings described experiencing severe physical, psychological, and emotional violence, and beyond this recounted a range of difficulties such as not being believed by the adults in their lives; the violence being dismissed as normal sibling behavior; an inability to access support services without the help of parents or other adults; sadness and distress at the loss of the sibling relationship; and resentment towards parents for their perceived inaction against the violence. Practitioners highlighted the dearth of services and resources available for siblings affected by AFV, and the inadequacies of current Child Protection responses. This research sheds light on the hidden issue of sibling violence and highlights the need for nuanced responses rather than a one-size-fits-all approach., (© London School of Economics and Political Science 2019.)

Objective: to investigate midwife experience of the presence of birth support people in the delivery suite., Participants: eighteen midwives working in three hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, who were interviewed over a 3 month period in 2001., Methods: informant views were gathered via semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analysed for key concepts and central themes that were then compared to existing literature., Findings: all midwives were supportive of the presence of birth support people to assist birthing women. The midwives were of the view that birth support people were not well prepared for the birth process, however, and did not generally have clear ideas about what support was necessary or required. Midwives indicated that the presence of birth support people in the birth room added to their workload and sometimes increased the difficulty of providing care to the birthing woman., Key Conclusions: while the presence of birth support people is now commonplace in most Western medical systems, the presence of these birth support people may result in additional workload and stress for midwives. This aspect of the work of midwives requires greater investigation.