Safer Futures Oration 2026

We are delighted to invite you to the 2026 Safer Futures Oration, an initiative of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS). The annual event highlights the important work in the field of forensic behavioural science and raise awareness for the Safer Futures Fund's mission to support emerging professionals in the field. 

We are honoured to welcome Professor Tony Butler as the orator.

Professor Butler, head of the Justice Health Research Program, UNSW, School of Population Health, will present on the main findings from the ReINVEST trial, and discuss the challenges involved in the development of the study, and policy implications for the domestic violence area.

Join us at 5pm for refreshments in Swinburne's AMDC Skylounge  on level 3 before we hear from Professor Butler.

Orator

Professor Tony Butler - UNSW School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine

Can a commonly used antidepressant reduce violence and domestic violence: the ReINVEST clinical trial.  

ReINVEST is a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of a commonly prescribed antidepressant (sertraline) in men with convictions for violence (including domestic violence) who were also highly impulsive. The study is novel in adopting a pharmacological approach to reducing violence and domestic violence. The study took several years to receive ethics approval, one of the many challenges faced by the study. Recruitment commenced in 2014 and continued for almost a decade until the last follow-up was completed in mid-2022.

Many of the men on the trial had troubled upbringings, untreated mental health disorders, substance use issues, system conflict, unemployment and relationship challenges. Their level of unmet need was such that simple administration of medication without addressing these broader needs would have failed in our duty of care. Hence, engagement with their complex needs became an essential ingredient of the ReINVEST approach.

At 24 months there was a 21% reduction in the risk of domestic violence reoffending, 30% reduction in those most adherent to treatment. Simply being engaged with the trial conferred benefit - more so in those allocated to sertraline compared with placebo (44% versus 27% risk reduction).

The presentation will cover the main findings from the trial, the challenges involved in the development of the study, and policy implications for the domestic violence area.