The Monash Deakin Filicide Research Hub is committed to understanding, preventing, and responding to filicide — the tragic killing of a child by a parent or stepparent. We fill critical evidence gaps through rigorous research, foster collaboration across sectors, and translate findings into practical prevention strategies and policy reforms.
How We Started
Our work began with the pioneering Victorian Filicide Study (2011), the first statewide analysis of child killings in Australia. It examined 52 cases from 2000 to 2009, revealing key links between filicide and factors such as mental illness, substance use, family separation, and prior abuse.
This led to the National Filicide Study (2016), in partnership with the Australian Institute of Criminology, which analysed all reported cases from 2000 to 2012.
In 2018, we published When Parents Kill Children: Understanding Filicide (Palgrave Macmillan), bringing together international perspectives to inform global prevention efforts.
The team behind Monash Filicide Research Hub
Emeritus Professor Thea Brown (Co-Director)
Thea Brown is a researcher in family violence, filicide, separation, and social work education at Monash University. Her work helped establish the Magellan Program (now Evatt Program) in the Family Court and contributed to federal family law reforms.
She co-authored Child Abuse and Family Law and Family Violence and Family Law in Australia (Volumes 1 & 2), and, with Dr Paula Fernandez Arias and Associate Professor Danielle Tyson, led three major filicide studies. Together, they developed the International Filicide Conferences (paused in 2021 due to COVID-19) and published When Parents Kill Children (Palgrave, 2018).
She has served on numerous national and state committees focused on family violence and social work education.
Associate Professor Danielle Tyson (Co-Director)
Danielle Tyson is a criminologist at Deakin University, specialising in gender-based violence, legal responses to domestic violence, and filicide. Her work informs legal reform and policy development across Australia.
She has published widely, including the book Sex, Culpability, and the Defence of Provocation (Routledge-Cavendish), and co-authored When Parents Kill Children with Professor Brown and Dr Fernandez Arias. Together, they have published multiple articles and presented at national and international conferences, and co-developed the International Filicide Conference series.
Dr Paula Fernandez Arias (Co-Director)
Paula Fernandez Arias is a social scientist and policy researcher, with a PhD from Monash University. Her work has focused on men’s behaviour change programs, family violence, legal system reform, and filicide.
Alongside Professor Brown and Associate Professor Tyson, she co-authored When Parents Kill Children, six journal articles, and multiple conference papers. Her research examines how legal systems impact vulnerable groups, and she has worked across sectors including corrections, refugee support, and family violence services.
NGOs, Family Courts, and Policy Bodies
Special issue in Child Abuse Review (2014)
Multiple peer-reviewed journal articles
Filicide in Australia: A National Study (AIC, 2019)
Why It Matters
Filicide is a deeply traumatic form of family violence. Our research reveals how early intervention—particularly during mental health crises, relationship breakdowns, or child welfare concerns—can help prevent these tragedies.
By connecting research, policy, and frontline practice, the Hub works to protect children and support at-risk families before harm occurs.