EXTERNALLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Voices, listening and law and policy reform on violence against women
Background
Violence against women is an endemic social problem in Australia and internationally. Governments have traditionally turned to law and policy reform processes to address this problem in its various forms, including sexual violence, domestic and family violence and sexual harassment. The violence persists despite these endeavours. Recently the importance of listening to victim-survivors, frontline support services and advocates, and reflecting their perspectives in law and policy reform, has been championed by government and other institutions as a way out of this impasse that has the potential for transformative change.
Aim
This project will be the first comprehensive study, in Australia or internationally, to investigate how women are listened to in law and policy reform addressing violence against women. While law reform processes now commonly elicit victims/survivors voices, with the implicit promise of listening, participants often report that they are not heard and research shows that meaningful change is limited. There is a gap in research on how women’s voices are adduced, heard and responded to.
This project generates new knowledge on best practices for listening to diverse groups of victim-survivors of violence against women in law reform and policy processes. It will develop best practice guidelines to equip institutions tasked with law reform with the tools they need to listen responsively to victim-survivors to effect transformative change.
Methods
The project is structured in two phases:
In Phase One, the project team will use a case study approach to iteratively develop our theory of responsive listening, and develop criteria for listening in law reform and policy processes. We will draw on three case studies exemplifying different listening practices, including a First Nations case study, a contemporary institutional law reform process and a social media-driven law reform campaign.
In Phase Two of the project, we will extend the listening criteria developed in Phase One through consultation with victim-survivors, frontline support services and advocates, as well as law reform actors and other stakeholders, using prefigurative methodologies, interviews and discussions. Victim-survivors will be centred in this consultation.