Online launch: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for young Australians.  

Attitudes matter: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for young Australians.

Disclaimer: ANROWS webinars bring together a diverse range of speakers on a particular topic, informed by the evidence base, lived expertise, and policy and practice knowledge. The views expressed by speakers or other third parties in ANROWS webinars and any subsequent materials are those of the speaker or third party and not, necessarily, of ANROWS.

The National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) is a periodic, representative survey of the Australian population. It provides insights into the Australian community’s understanding and attitudes regarding violence against women, their attitudes towards gender inequality, and their intentions to intervene prosocially if witnessing violence or disrespect against women. This report looks specifically at understandings and attitudes held by young people aged 16 to 24 years.

This webinar presented information about:

• understanding and attitudes regarding violence against women, attitudes towards gender equality, and intention to intervene prosocially when witnessing abuse or disrespect of women among young people as at 2021
• changes to understanding and attitudes among young people since the 2017 NCAS
• gaps in understanding or problematic attitudes held by young people in 2021
• demographic and other factors associated with problematic understanding and attitudes among young people
• comparisons between the attitudes and understanding of young people and other respondents.

With an introduction from Sam Mostyn AO, ANROWS Board Chair, and an address by the Hon. Justine Elliot, Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, the launch featured an overview of key findings by the Director of the NCAS, Dr Christine Coumarelos, and reflections from youth advocate, Mack Kohn (YFS).

Presenters

Sam Mostyn AO 

Sam Mostyn AO is a businesswoman and sustainability adviser, with a long history of executive and governance roles across business, sport, climate change, the arts, policy, and NFP sectors. Chair of Aware Super, FYA, AIIW and ANROWS, Sam also serves on various boards including Mirvac, Climate Change Authority, Tonic Media and Beyond Blue; alongside a broad portfolio of other roles including chairing Ausfilm and the Centre for Policy Development; past roles include Chair of Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, Citi Australia, President of Chief Executive Women, and Climate Council board member. Sam was awarded the Order of Australia in 2021 for distinguished service to business and sustainability, and to the community, through seminal contributions to a range of organisations, and to women.

Hon. Justine Elliot, Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence 

Justine Elliot is the Federal Labor Member for Richmond and lives on the NSW North Coast with her husband Craig and family. She serves as the Assistant Minister for Social Services and the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in the Albanese Labor Government. Justine also served as the Minister for Ageing (2007-2010) and Parliamentary Secretary for Trade (2010-2013).

Before becoming a Federal MP, Justine was a frontline police officer, and worked as a Youth Justice Convenor with the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice. Justine graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Arts in English and History, and also holds a Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from Griffith University.

Dr Christine Coumaleros 

Dr Christine Coumarelos has more than 25 years’ experience directing research programs in the areas of crime and justice, as well as broader research experience in psychology and health.

Her career has focused on informing justice policy, programs and service delivery, with a particular interest in improving justice and broader life outcomes for disadvantaged and marginalised groups – including people experiencing domestic and family violence, people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people from culturally and linguistically backgrounds.

Christine’s research and evaluation expertise includes major population surveys and spans quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches. She has provided high-level strategic leadership in all aspects of research and evaluation, including setting research agendas; designing, delivering and quality assuring methods, statistical analyses and reports; securing external research funding; and undertaking research alliances with partner organisations and stakeholders.

Christine led the research programs at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW from 2003 to 2019 and at the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research from 1993 to 2001. She has also held senior research and policy positions at NSW Police and Worksafe Australia.

At the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, Christine led the seminal Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey, the largest legal needs survey anywhere in the world. This body of work now underpins justice policy and public legal assistance services in Australia, including the National Partnership Agreement between the Commonwealth Government and public legal assistance services. Christine’s research provided impetus to the drive towards joined-up legal and human services to provide more holistic and enduring outcomes for clients. The Law and disorders research which she led was influential in the movement towards Health-Justice service partnerships in Australia.

Christine has a BSc in Psychology (Honours 1) and a PhD in Psychology from the University of NSW.

Mack Kohn

Mack is currently studying a Bachelor of Social Work. Mack works with Youth Family Service (YFS) in a program called R4Respect, which is a primary prevention program for domestic and family violence. This program is run for young people in a number of schools and detention centres across southeast Queensland. It focuses on the importance of consent and respect within relationships, with a hope to empower young people to change the culture we live in.