Violence against disabled women: Findings from the Royal Commission

In today’s blog, Phoebe Nagorcka-Smith (@PNagorckaSmith) explores what the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability had to say about family and domestic violence.

Single parents and post-separation families: Challenges and opportunities in times of crisis

This year Anti-Poverty Week 2023 (15-27 October) is continuing and extending its campaign to end child poverty in Australia. To achieve this requires a strong focus on supporting families of all kinds. In today’s post Dr Alice Campbell (@ColtonCambo] of Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) examines the challenges and opportunities in supporting single parenting, co-parenting and post-separation families.

Doing the right thing by Australia’s children

In today’s post, Deb Tsorbaris discusses the sobering findings of the landmark Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) released in April this year, and the need for policymakers and the child services sector to respond swiftly. The study reveals that child maltreatment is widespread in Australia and associated with early and persistent harm. Deb is the CEO at The Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, (@CFECFW), Victoria’s peak body for child and family services.

Advocacy, Policy and governancePower to Persuade21 July 2023Children, family violence

The 'right to recover': Healing from family, domestic and sexual violence requires community-wide action

Marisa Lo Bartolo (LinkedIn), from Good Shepherd (@GoodShepANZ) reflects on the recent Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery and Healing Conference in Wollongong. Marisa is a Policy and Advocacy Advisor, and has a particular interest in the primary prevention of gender based violence, trauma recovery, and issues faced by LGBTIQA+ communities.

Buy Now Pay Later is not the same as lay-by

In today’s analysis, Phoebe Nagorcka-Smith (@PNagorckaSmith) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodShepANZ) uses evidence from their recent ‘Safety net for sale’ report to explore how Buy Now Pay Later is used to trap family violence victim-survivors in debt, and why regulation is key to preventing it.

If we want Australian children to grow up free from poverty, we must support those raising them – especially sole parents

This year marks the 20th year of Australia dedicating a week to act on poverty and Anti-Poverty Week 2022, 16-22 October (@AntiPovertyWeek) is calling on our Parliamentarians to legislate a plan to halve child poverty in Australia by 2030. To achieve real change, Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) researchers Dr Alice Campbell (@ColtonCambo) and Professor Janeen Baxter (@JaneenBaxter7) highlight the prevalence of single parent families in poverty and the need for targeted supports.

Womens Policy Action TankLife Course Centre18 October 2022Poverty, Single mothers, Children, family violence

How health justice partnerships transform responses to family, domestic, and sexual violence

Many women who experience family violence, many reach out to a healthcare professional. In today’s analysis, Dr Joyce Chia (@JoyceKWChia), Policy & Advocacy Lead at Health Justice Australia (@HealthJusticeAu), asks how we can better equip the health system to respond to violence against women and children. Health Justice Australia is a national not-for-profit centre of excellence that supports the expansion and effectiveness of health justice partnerships.

The barriers just keep coming: Poor diagnosis and support for victim-survivors of family violence with brain injuries

Victim-survivors of family violence often sustain undiagnosed brain injuries which have a profound impact on psycho-social health and overall cognitive function. In today’s analysis, Phoebe Nagorcka-Smith of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) details how acquired brain injuries (ABIs) too often go undiagnosed, and even when they are diagnosed accessing required support remains out of reach for many women.

Reimagining welfare to mitigate violence against women

Family violence has been on the government agenda for several years now, but one issue that is seldom raised is the role of financial insecurity as a driver of violence. In today’s analysis, Phoebe Nagorca-Smith of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) explains how the gendered experience of the welfare system increases women’s risk of violence.

Draw a policy: Accessible family violence policies can be life-changing

The Fair Work Commission has stipulated that all employees are entitled to up to 5 unpaid family violence leave days per year. This is a critically important step that increases both the safety and the financial security of victim/survivors. However, effectively communicating those policies, particularly to a diverse work force, can be challenging. In today’s post, Hannan Amin of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) provides important guidelines for ensuring employees can understand their leave entitlements when experiencing family violence. This analysis was originally published by the Community Services Industry Alliance and can be read in its original form here.

Dear Prime Minister: Single mothers are asking for some hope

Single mothers have been consistently the most poverty-stricken household type for years, and the last Labor government infamously moved thousands onto the (then) NewStart Allowance. With the recent federal election outcome, Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children shares an open letter to Anthony Albanese, who was himself raised by a single mother in difficult financial circumstances. Her letter is interspersed with the messages from single mothers to the new Prime Minister.

For women, the road to ‘unfreedom’ is paved with violence

Examining, and supporting, women’s financial wellbeing at a single point in time will never fully capture, nor compensate for, the effects that experiences of violence have on their lives. Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) researchers Dr Alice Campbell (@ColtonCambo), Professor Janeen Baxter (@JaneenBaxter7) and Dr Ella Kuskoff (@EllaKuskoff) from The University of Queensland (@UQ_News) are investigating how violence and multidimensional disadvantage intersects and accumulates for women over the life course.

The social safety net as a complex system failure for women

Women are more reliant on the social safety net than men, but what is their experience of it? In today’s analysis, researchers across multiple components of the safety net explain how deliberate design decisions have created a system that places women in crisis. This long read is based on a presentation at the Australian Social Policy Conference in October 2021.

Supporting young people experiencing family violence: Shortfalls but also opportunities

The Royal Commission into Family Violence found that appropriate supports for children and young people experiencing family violence were lacking. In a new report just released by Melbourne City Mission, the shortfalls and gaps are explored in depth, along with recommendations for strengthening the service response in ways appropriate for young people. Today’s analysis is a summary of key findings provided by co-authors Shorna Moore of Melbourne City Mission (@MelbCityMission) and Tanya Corrie (@TanyaCorrie) of Corrie Consulting. You can access the full report here: Amplify: Turning up the Volume on Young People and Family Violence.

Creating using evidencePower to Persuade10 December 2021young people, family violence, policy problem, Royal Commission

Tethered through Centrelink: Couple payment policies work against women’s safety

Centrelink plays a central role in supporting women and children to leave family violence. But how effective is this safety net? Previous research by Economic Justice Australia (formerly the National Social Security Rights Network) found that Centrelink policies and processes often increased women’s risk. Today’s analysis provides an overview Economic Justice Australia’s latest report, authored by Sally Cameron of Welfare Rights Centre (@welfare rights) and Linda Forbes of Economic Justice Australia (@ej_australia), which examines how Centrelink debts intersect with family violence. You can access the full report here: Debt, duress and dob-ins: Centrelink compliance processes and domestic violence

Understanding the links between women, violence and poverty for Anti-Poverty Week

Anti-Poverty Week is an event held every October to raise awareness and understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty in Australia, and to encourage action to end it. In today’s analysis, researchers at the Life Course Centre (@lifecourseAust) are highlighting the links between women, violence and poverty, and the structural inequalities that must be addressed to stop it. A summary of this analysis is presented here by Dr Alice Campbell (@ColtonCambo) and Professor Janeen Baxter (@JaneenBaxter7); you can read their full report here.

Anti-Poverty Week runs from 17-23 October this year.

Serious about women’s safety? It requires broad policy reform

The Women’s Safety Summit has sparked multiple conversations about best practice and effective policy for the next National Plan to End Violence Against Women and their Children. In today’s analysis, Emma O’Neill of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) makes the argument that wider policy decisions during the term of the first National Plan reduced women’s economic security and ran counter to women’s safety, and that these need to be reversed under the next National Plan.

Debt collection practices and women’s safety

As pandemic impacts continue to be felt across much of Australia, changes in personal debt, particularly for women and lower-income households, is increasingly concerning. In today’s analysis, Dr Lucinda O’Brien (Melbourne Law School), Dr Vivien Chen (Monash Business School), Professor Ian Ramsay (Melbourne Law School) and Associate Professor Paul Ali (Melbourne Law School) report on research recently published on how under -regulated debt collection practices are contributing to women’s lack of safety.

How social security works against women’s safety

The Women’s Safety Summit was noticeably silent on the social safety net. As an area over which the Federal Government has complete control, it represents an accessible lever for policy change. In today’s analysis, the paper that was tabled jointly by the National Council for Single Mothers and their Children (NCSMC) and ACOSS (@ACOSS) is presented, detailing eleven ways that social security works to harm women. Terese Edwards (@Terese_NCSMC) of NCSMC provides a preface.

The Batty Effect: a case study on the influence of victim-survivors, and an argument for purposefully engaging and empowering diverse voices in the development of public policy

Why are victim-survivors of gender-based violence such powerful agents of change? What perils do they face? New research published in the journal Violence Against Women (@VAWJournal) presents findings from an in-depth study of domestic and family violence advocate Rosie Batty and the significant social and policy change she helped to drive in Australia. Lead author Lisa Wheildon (@wheeliebinit), from BehaviourWorks at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, shares a summary of the findings from the study, co-authored with Professor Jacqui True (@JacquiTrue), Associate Professor Asher Flynn (@AsherFlynn), and Abby Wild.

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