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Research

Our research

Violence against women and children affects everybody. It impacts on the health, wellbeing and safety of a significant proportion of Australians throughout all states and territories and places an enormous burden on the nation’s economy across family and community services, health and hospitals, income-support and criminal justice systems.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

News and events

ANROWS hosts events as part of its knowledge transfer and exchange work, including public lectures, workshops and research launches. Details of upcoming ANROWS activities and news are available from the list on the right.

ANROWS

About ANROWS

ANROWS was established by the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments of Australia to produce, disseminate and assist in applying evidence for policy and practice addressing violence against women and children.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Resources

To support the take-up of evidence, ANROWS offers a range of resources developed from research to support practitioners and policy-makers in delivering evidence-based interventions.


NEW PROJECT

Respectful Relationships programs in schools

A new ANROWS project will assess a program designed to build positive gender-related attitudes and respectful peer relationships in Australian schools.

The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) intervention program is used to promote respectful relationships as part of a holistic program of social and emotional learning. Research shows that evidence-informed, school-based programs of this type can lead to improved peer relationships, less tolerance of gender-based violence and decreased violence perpetration and victimisation.

Initially developed in Victoria, the RRRR program will be trialled by schools in several states. This implementation offers researchers a unique opportunity to conduct the first control–experimental study of the intervention, comparing outcomes in 12 participating schools with those running their usual Health Education classes (a waiting group).

The research aims to analyse the specific ways that comprehensive classroom interventions may impact student wellbeing, gender-related attitudes and behaviour, and student dynamics and relationships. It will also explore how the training that is provided to teachers influences their delivery of social and emotional learning and respectful relationships education.

The project, led by researchers at the University of Melbourne and social systems analysis institute SNA Toolbox, will employ conventional measures of wellbeing, along with innovative social network analysis tools to track changes in the attitudes, relationships and behaviour of Year 7 students.

This study is part of a program of research led by ANROWS and funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services under the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022.

FIND OUT MORE
NEW PROJECT

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing programs that respond to domestic, family and sexual violence

The effectiveness of “trauma-informed care” and healing programs will be at the forefront of a new ANROWS research project studying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family and domestic violence and sexual assault (FDVSA) programs.

A partnership with researchers from the Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, the project will map and analyse “what works” in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing programs that respond to FDVSA nationally.

In recent years there has been considerable inquiry into the cause and impact of family, domestic and sexual violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. However, many researchers have assumed that the factors involved are the same as those driving violence against women in the non-Indigenous population.

“Research now shows that violence experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women should also be understood in the context of the continued trauma of colonisation,” said lead researcher Professor Bronwyn Carlson. “Healing programs consider the ongoing trauma of colonisation experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

This study is part of a program of research led by ANROWS and funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services under the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022.

READ MORE

UPCOMING WEBINAR

The role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law and Culture in responding to violence

Thursday 20 August 2020

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have advocated for community-led approaches to family violence that are culturally safe, involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice models and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law and Culture.

This webinar will explore recent ANROWS research that identifies the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Law and Culture in preventing and responding to family violence.

The panel of researchers will discuss:

  • family violence as shaped by the impacts of colonisation
  • how responses to family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities should move away from the mainstream legal system and be grounded in Law and Culture
  • addressing family violence through healing intergenerational trauma on country
  • community-driven approaches that involve Elders, and men and women working together
  • recommendations for policy and service change.
REGISTER NOW

ANROWS welcomes …

ANROWS warmly welcomes two new members of the ANROWS Board: Brenton Philp and Elizabeth Foley.

BRENTON PHILP

Brenton Philp was formally appointed to the ANROWS Board on 7 August, taking on the  position of Commonwealth Director (an appointment made by the Commonwealth Minister for Families and Social Services, The Hon Senator Anne Ruston).

With over 20 years’ service in the Australian Public Service, Brenton was recently appointed to the role of Group Manager, Families, where he is responsible for family and children’s policy and family safety, including leading the Australian Government’s work on the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children and the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022, and managing grants supporting Australian families and children.

Brenton has previously performed roles in energy policy, including with the secretariat for the COAG Energy Council; the Prime Minister’s Office; and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

 

ELIZABETH FOLEY

Elizabeth Foley was formally appointed the ANROWS Board as an Independent Director on 29 July, for a term of four years. She is also the incoming Chair of the Board’s Finance, Risk & Audit Committee.

Elizabeth is an experienced CEO and director, having spent more than 20 years in senior executive roles in financial services and 17 years’ board membership experience. She has worked for several blue-chip companies, including AXA, MLC, ING, Prudential and Unilever.

For the past three years Elizabeth has been focusing on transitioning the health industry to the digital era. Most recently, she worked at Chief Executive Women as Director of Research and Business Engagement, assisting this member organisation to build its advocacy platform and research reputation.

FAREWELL

We wish all the best to our outgoing Board members, Chantelle Stratford (Director, Commonwealth) and Pino Migliorino (Director, Independent) who have generously provided ANROWS with their leadership and support over recent years.

WORKUP QUEENSLAND

Seeking professional development providers

WorkUP Queensland, an initiative jointly delivered by ANROWS and the Healing Foundation, has begun a procurement process and is seeking professional development providers.

The initiative’s standing offer arrangement (SOA) will establish a panel of providers to deliver professional development services for the domestic and family violence, sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing sector.

WorkUP Queensland is funded by the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women. The service is working to support and build a strong and skilled sexual violence, women’s health and domestic and family violence workforce in Queensland.

The procurement process has been developed with independent advice for the purpose of ensuring accountability, transparency, and equity and with a view to identifying the options available. Among other criteria, the panel will seek professional development that is highly engaging and relevant to the contemporary environment, designed to support sector collaboration, and delivered by acknowledged experts. More information about the panel and its criteria can be found here.

If you know of professional development providers who reflect the above please feel free to send them this information about the SOA, or invite them to contact us by email: [email protected].


ANROWS Library

Find the information you’re looking for

Did you know the ANROWS Library provides a document request service for users?

The ANROWS Library contains one of the largest collections of research and resources related to violence against women. Any of these resources can be requested through the Library catalogue.

To request an item from the Library catalogue, simply select a resource, click on the “Request” button on the right-hand pane, fill in your details in the form and click “Send”. Users will receive a copyright declaration form: please complete and return this form to help us ensure that all our responses to your requests are in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act.

The ANROWS Library can supply a copy of an article or other work, as long as the copy is not used for any purposes other than for research or study. In accordance with the limits prescribed by the Copyright Act, the ANROWS Library is limited to providing only 10 percent or one chapter of a book or one article per periodical issue, or more if those articles are on the same subject.


Opportunities

Work with WorkUP Queensland

WorkUP Queensland is seeking a Project Officer to fill a part-time, 12-month contract based in Brisbane.

The successful person will be part of a unique program which aims to reduce domestic and family violence by working with the sector to build the workforce it needs to make a difference.

For more information, please see the WorkUP Queensland website.

 

2020 Criminology Research Grants

Submissions for the Australian Institute of Criminology’s 2020 Criminology Research Grants are now open.

The AIC encourages applications from organisations or collaborative teams with a demonstrated capacity to deliver high-quality criminological research outcomes. Submissions close on 8 September 2020.

 

Disability Royal Commission

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is now accepting submissions.

 

Interviews with front-line workers

UNSW researchers want to hear from those working with clients and families impacted by DFV, whether employed in health care, specialist DFV services or other sectors, such as legal services, to help shape policies now and in the long term. The study will explore how services are meeting community need during the coronavirus pandemic. Find out more.

 

Tracking technology-facilitated abuse: Survey

Researchers at Curtin University are seeking feedback from domestic and family violence practitioners about how technology is being used in domestic and family violence. This survey was first conducted in 2015, and the research team is interested in seeing what changes have occurred since, in order to provide up-to-date training and resources for the domestic and family violence sector.

New research

You can access all the articles in Notepad in the ANROWS Library.

Articles

Ausín, B., González-Sanguino, C., Castellanos, M. Á., & Muñoz, M. (2020). Gender-related differences in the psychological impact of confinement as a consequence of COVID-19 in Spain. Journal of Gender Studies, 1–10.

Fisher, C. A., Rudkin, N., Withiel, T. D., May, A., Barson, E., Allen, B., … Willis, K. (2020). Assisting patients experiencing family violence: A survey of training levels, perceived knowledge, and confidence of clinical staff in a large metropolitan hospital. Women’s Health, 16.

Herrenkohl, T. I., Fedina, L., Roberto, K. A., Raquet, K. L., Hu, R. X., Rousson, A. N., & Mason, W. A. (2020). Child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, and elder mistreatment: A review and theoretical analysis of research on violence across the life course. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse.

McEwan, T. E., Simmons, M., Clothier, T., & Senkans, S. (2020). Measuring stalking: The development and evaluation of the Stalking Assessment Indices (SAI). Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 1–27.

Olszowy, L., Jaffe, P. & Saxton, M. (2020). Examining the role of child protection services in domestic violence cases: Lessons learned from tragedies. Journal of Family Violence.

Payne, J. L., Morgan, A., & Piquero, A. R. (2020). COVID-19 and social distancing measures in Queensland, Australia, are associated with short-term decreases in recorded violent crime. Journal of Experimental Criminology.

Rizzo, A.J., Banyard, V.L., & Edwards, K.M. (2020). Unpacking adolescent masculinity: Relations between boys’ sexual harassment victimization, perpetration, and gender role beliefs. Journal of Family Violence.

Wilcox, T., Greenwood, M., Pullen, A., O’Leary Kelly, A., & Jones, D. (in press). Interfaces of domestic violence and organization: Gendered violence and inequality. Gender, Work & Organization.

Withiel, T. D., Allen, B., Evans, K., Rudkin, N., Willis, K., Hooker, L., & Fisher, C. (in press). Assisting clients experiencing family violence: Clinician and client survey responses in a child and family health service. Journal of Clinical Nursing.



Conferences & events

13 August 2020: COVID CONVERSATIONS—Domestic Abuse: When Home is Not a Safe Space—Human Rights Consortium, TJI, Equality Coalition (UK & Ireland)

From Wednesday 19 August (ongoing): Responding to the “Shadow Pandemic” webinar series—Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre & Domestic Violence Victoria

19 August 2020: Is Evidence-Informed Innovation an Oxymoron?— Centre for Evidence and Implementation & Monash University

19–20 August 2020: Safe and Together™ Model Supervisor Training —Stopping Family Violence

3 September 2020: Connections and supports during Covid-19: New findings from the AIFS Families in Australia Survey—Australian Institute of Family Studies

9 September 2020: Responding to family violence in First Nations families to support children’s social and emotional wellbeing—Australian Institute of Family Studies

Contribute to Notepad

If you have publications, resources, opportunities or events to promote, please forward them to [email protected].

Preferred format is a very brief outline (maximum 4 lines) and a link to further information.

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