Emma Lipson knows what it’s like to struggle to find help. Now, she’s using her lived experience to help change the system – and make sure families get support earlier.
Content warning: This article discusses domestic, family and sexual violence. Support services are listed below.
Emma Lipson knows what it feels like to need help and have no idea where to find it.
Looking back, she can see moments when earlier support could have made a difference for her family. But when you’re already overwhelmed, even working out where to turn can feel impossible.
She is now using that experience to help make sure other families are heard.
A mother of three neurodiverse children, two diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and one with ADHD, Emma lives with an autoimmune disorder and grew up with chronic pain.
She’s also a survivor of domestic and family violence.
Her experiences have given her a firsthand understanding of how difficult it can be to find support when life is already overwhelming.
“Even simple tasks, like searching for services on Google, can feel impossible when people are living with trauma,” Emma says.
Breaking down barriers
For families experiencing domestic and family violence, the barriers can be even greater – from fear and uncertainty about asking for help, to limited services and the practical challenge of finding somewhere safe to stay.
“One of the biggest barriers isn’t that families don’t want help: it’s that many don’t know where to find it, don’t feel safe asking for it, or are afraid of what might happen if they do,” Emma says.
She’s also seen how families can struggle to access support when concerns are identified but don’t meet the threshold for intervention.
“It’s hard when people are raising child safety concerns, but because a situation does not meet a particular system threshold, families don’t receive early support. The system waits until a crisis develops, and by then the impacts on children and families are too great.”
For Emma, earlier support can make a significant difference to children’s lives.
“We know children’s development can be impacted by trauma and they can experience regressions and learning difficulties. If support is available early, children are much more likely to thrive instead of spending years trying to catch up.”
Advocating for children
Emma’s own experiences have shaped her determination to make children’s voices harder to overlook.
Having supported her children while managing the effects of trauma herself, she understands how difficult it can be for parents to advocate for their children when they are struggling simply to get through the day.
She believes children affected by domestic and family violence need to be recognised as survivors in their own right, even when they are not the direct target of physical violence.
“Our children are often the voiceless survivors,” Emma says.
Her message to practitioners is simple: “Listen to children and listen to what is happening, not just to them but around them.”
From lived experience to system change
Emma wanted to turn her experiences into something constructive. That led her to become a System Advisor with the CFSS Lived Experience Network (LEN) for the Department of Human Services.
The network brings together people with firsthand experience of family stress and of navigating support services, giving them a direct role in helping shape policy and services across the Child and Family Support System (CFSS).
The recently-released inaugural CFSS Lived Experience Network Impact Report shows how those perspectives are helping turn personal experiences into practical changes to the system.
In 2025, LEN Advisors contributed to 11 consultations, delivered six presentations and provided ongoing advice across the system.
Their work has ranged from advising on culturally safe practice and preschool participation for children at risk to contributing to Safer Family Services practice guides and the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.
“Lived experience perspectives alongside data will tell us what it’s actually like for families trying to access support, or for those who can’t access support at all,” Emma says.
“Sometimes people’s experiences can get lost behind the statistics, and having different sources of knowledge helps the system learn how to improve.”
That can mean identifying where families are falling through gaps, as well as highlighting what is working and helping decision-makers understand what accessing support looks like in real life.
Changing practice
One of the most meaningful aspects of Emma’s work has been speaking directly to practitioners.
She has presented at Communities of Practice forums, including a session focused on engaging fathers who use violence.
“When practitioners say things like, ‘You’ve really opened my eyes to what families go through,’ or ‘I’m going to change how I interact with families’ – that’s incredibly powerful,” Emma says.
“It shows that sharing our stories can shift thinking and influence practice.”
For Emma, the focus is on helping build a workforce better equipped to respond when families are at their most vulnerable.
“One of the most meaningful changes I’ve helped shape through LEN has been advocating for support earlier, before families reach crisis point,” she says.
“It is empowering to take what was a really horrible time in mine and my children’s lives and turn it into something that can make a difference for others.
“If sharing my lived experience helps create change so that other families do not have to go through the same things, then that is something I am incredibly proud to be part of.”
Click here to find out more about being a LEN member. For free family support and information, click here.
If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence, 1800RESPECT offers free, confidential support 24/7 online or by calling 1800 737 732.
