Family Dynamics After Disclosure

About this Conversation Café

90 minutes | Conversation-focused | No pre-work required

This March Conversation Café offers a facilitated space to explore what research and lived experience tell us about what often unfolds within families after disclosure of intrafamilial harm.

For many people, disclosure is not an ending, but the beginning of a complex and often disorienting period. Families may respond with support, confusion, silence, fragmentation, or attempts to restore “normality” before safety and truth are fully held.

This session is not about analysing individual families or assigning blame.

It is about reflecting together on what research and lived experience tell us about family dynamics after disclosure, including what is commonly missing, and what survivors and families often need but do not receive.

This conversation has been shaped directly by themes named in our January gathering, including questions about parental response, silence, protection, loyalty, and the impact of unresolved dynamics over time.

Rather than offering instruction or solutions, this space invites thoughtful conversation around questions such as:

1. What tends to happen within families after disclosure, and why
2. How silence, avoidance or over-control can shape long-term outcomes
3. Where responsibility often falls, and where it is avoided
4. What support survivors and families frequently need but struggle to access

Questions about fathers and paternal presence or absence sit within this broader family systems conversation and will be held with care and complexity.

This is not a workshop and not a panel. It is a facilitated Conversation Café, designed to be spacious, relational and respectful of different levels of readiness.

Who This Conversation Is For

This Conversation Café may be of interest to:

• people with lived experience of sibling sexual trauma and other forms of intrafamilial harm
• survivors of emotional, psychological or relational abuse within families
• parents, carers and loved ones navigating disclosure or its aftermath
• advocates, writers and educators exploring public voice and identity
• practitioners and allies seeking deeper understanding

You do not need to have attended previous Conversation Cafés to join.

Format and What to Expect

This is a 90-minute facilitated Conversation Café held online via Zoom.

• Participation is always invitational
• Some people come ready to speak, others to listen. Both are welcome
• The space is intentionally not crowded and allows room for every voice
• No pressure to share personal details

This 90-minute Conversation Café follows a facilitated structure that supports safety, reflection and choice, is respectful of time and shared participation, plus allows the conversation to unfold naturally.

Practical Details

Date & Time:

Wednesday 18th March 2026 starting 6:00 AM until 7:30 AM Australian Eastern Standard Time (Brisbane time) | UK: Tuesday 17th March 2026 starting 8:00 PM and USA CT starting 3:00 PM / PT starting 1:00 PM and ET starting 4:00 PM

Check out your favourite timezone converter to double check what time it is for you where you are.

Length: 90 minutes
Format: Online via Zoom
Recording: The host records for internal purposes to create an anonymised recap newsletter for participants to reflect on after the event. The recordings are not shared.

A recap newsletter will be sent to participants later in the month.

Safety, Privacy and Agreements

To protect everyone’s privacy and safety:

• No screenshots, photos, ai note taking or participant recordings
• Some attendees may use pseudonyms for legal or personal reasons
• Participant names or identifying details are never shared without consent

Attendance is intentionally limited to keep the space relational and contained.

You are not expected to speak, share or perform. Showing up is enough.

Registration Options

Standard Registration: $40 AUD = $27 USD | £20 GBP | €23 EUR
(Indicative only. Final amount depends on current exchange rates.)

Eventbrite will convert to your local currency at checkout.

Your ticket supports the sustainability of Blue Borage and the care involved in holding these spaces. Eventbrite fees are absorbed so your full ticket contributes directly to facilitation, coordination and follow-up.

Discount options:

• Lived experience community discounts are available through these newsletters: 5WAVES, Blue Borage and IncestAware. Register for those newsletters to view the promocode for each organisation.
• Newcomers may use NEWCOMER26 for a 10% discount for your first event.

About Blue Borage

Blue Borage creates trauma-aware spaces for conversation, learning and reflection. Our Conversation Cafés bring people together from around the world to explore complex topics with care, choice and respect for readiness.

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