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Birlinka
Men's Behaviour Change - Domestic and Family Violence 
An exploration of self, identity, cultural and learned behaviour for a different way of being. 
" I never heard anyone tell me before that I wasn't the problem, that the problems is the problem and that I am me. That picture we did really helped me think about things different" Birlinka client 
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Birlinka
(delivered weekly, across two - sixteen weeks programmes) An Indigenous Australian initiative co-designed between Natjul, men in prison, and their families as the men transitioned from prison back into their community. Birlinka is currently being delivered as part of an MOU with an international development agency to engage Aboriginal men in four regional and remote communities to reduce and then stop domestic violence among participants. Natjul's Birlinka programme has a three-pronged approach to working with men around change behaviour and domestic violence that includes:
Our twenty-year history working among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and community have informed our method and practice for engagement around some of the difficult things to talk about. For example, when it comes to domestic and family violence, our engagement is informed by an Indigenous research and engagement methodology, and an acknowledgment that domestic violence does not stand alone, that domestic violence is influenced and upheld by multiple factors of individual, social-collective, and historical contexts that work together to create the conditions where this destructive practice has been introduced and sustained. Our purpose is to challenge these histories, and introduce the use of practical tools that can assist a migration of identity from one way of being a man to an acknowledgement that change and possibility of different is possible. Our work across regional, remote and urban settings consistently demonstrates the vast majority of men want something 'different better' for themselves, their family and community, yet struggle with questions and practice around how. Our engagement method is an acknowledgement of that history and want. Facilitative Engagement At Natjul and in Birlinka we use a facilitative engagement that invites the problem story into the room, talks about personal and collective aspiration, challenges power and control, acknowledges personal and inter-generational histories, introduces new knowledge - words and ideas relevant to our lives, and negotiates 'different better'. We have previously worked with, appreciate and acknowledge the place for structured modules as learning tools to pass on knowledge, however, our experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to inform that learning presented as a set of linear time limited topics can narrow participant engagement, buy-in, and contextual framing around behaviour change regarding domestic and family violence and anti-social behaviours. As a result, over time, our facilitative engagement method have fused the thematic (themes) and the chronological (modules) to deliver what we refer to as 'Thodules' ie, 'Birlinka is a thoduled engagement method for working with Indigenous men and communities around behaviour change'. Our use of thodules provides space to introduce and define non-negotiable topics around domestic violence and anti-social behaviours, however, simultaneously encourage and enable other related important discussions relevant to participating men be included and explored with an end goal of reduce incidents of and stopping interpersonal violence. 
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