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Sexual revictimisation has devastating consequences for victim/survivors, yet there is limited research exploring women's experience of revictimisation in regional/rural areas. Using a community‐based participatory research (CBPR) approach, this paper reports on a qualitative study that employed a material feminist lens and Nixon's theory of "slow violence" to explore women's lived experiences of sexual revictimisation. In‐depth interviews were conducted with victim/survivors (N = 11) living in regional and rural areas of Australia. Findings show that the failure of family, community and services to respond appropriately to participant's disclosures of violence and abuse was deeply entangled with rural infrastructure, isolated landscapes, fear of social isolation, victim‐blaming discourses, idealisation of men in the community and limited relationship and sexuality education (RSE) in schools. These components collectively formed a manifestation of "slow violence," which accumulated over the participants' life spans and gradually normalised relational violence. This paper draws attention to a complex interplay of cultural, material and interpersonal elements, including the culture and spaces of rural/regional communities, that establish conditions enhancing the likelihood of women experiencing sexual revictimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is much research on the topic of child maltreatment more broadly in Australia, a nuanced understanding of intergenerational child maltreatment is needed to improve our responses. Little work has considered all four intergenerational patterns of child maltreatment: cycle maintainers (maltreated parents with maltreated children), cycle breakers (maltreated parents with non‐maltreated children), cycle initiators (non‐maltreated parents with maltreated children) and a comparison group (non‐maltreated parents with non‐maltreated children). We use this terminology to maintain consistency with international literature, but acknowledge that these terms minimise the complexity inherent in contact with child protection systems. Research has mainly focused on maintainers, which hinders our ability to appropriately support all families and limits our understanding of individuals breaking the cycle. This paper outlines key knowledge gaps and identifies strategic areas of focus for researchers and policymakers. There is an urgent need for more emphasis on building resilience and strengths, the provision of more integrated and holistic support for families, and consideration of sex differences. We highlight the need for more research on this topic, particularly led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and hope that the recommendations in this paper can be revisited and updated as this important research base grows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Australian visual arts sector. We base our analysis on the responses of over 1500 visual artists and arts workers to a survey conducted by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA), the national peak body for the visual and media arts, craft and design sector in September 2021. NAVA employed this online survey to study the relationship between the pandemic and both the incomes and mental health of artists and arts workers. Using regression analysis, we find that there has been a significant impact for both artists and arts workers, with the severity of the impacts varying by gender, age and the availability of state‐based and Australian Government support programmes. Reduced hours and loss of contracted work and commissions due to the pandemic were both related to declines in income and mental health outcomes for artists and for arts workers. Housing stress was associated with a higher likelihood of a significant or extreme mental health impact for artists and arts workers. In addition, artists' incomes and mental health outcomes were impacted when faced with a reduced ability to sell, although some artists were able to increase their online profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, there is insufficient exploration and understanding of how we can strengthen the critical role played by Indigenous fathers. This paper argues that for Indigenous fathers to feel supported in childrearing, greater attention must be given to their social and cultural determinants of health and well‐being. To gain insights into the challenges experienced by Indigenous fathers and the support they require in fatherhood, we primarily apply thematic analysis to data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC). The findings reveal that most fathers identify a social or cultural health and well‐being determinant challenging their fatherhood journey. We examine these results and suggest why and how appropriately focussing on the social and cultural determinants of health and well‐being will enhance and support Indigenous men in fatherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An appreciation of Aboriginal land rights in New South Wales (NSW) is characterised by two dominant narratives. One is that land rights are central to achieving and advancing recognition and support for the existence and survival of Aboriginal peoples in the settled spaces of south‐eastern Australia. In this view, Aboriginal land rights realise intrinsic political power. The second dominant narrative is that the land estate restituted to Aboriginal people's Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) is to be "activated" and "leveraged" for economic prosperity of collectively defined groups and shared to support and sustain individuals and families. This perspective holds that land enables realisation of wealth and prosperity. Although these narratives are based in truth, they have served to make some important work and values held by Aboriginal people less visible in any evaluation of the benefits of land rights. It is this less visible work, the work of care that is unique to Aboriginal worlds and made possible by the resources and structures of LALCs realised through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, 1983, that is the focus of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss a rapid‐fire study involving Indigenous and non‐Indigenous stakeholders from the urban Indigenous health sector who collaborated to produce an "Urban COVID‐19 Systems Map." The map outlines the behaviours, actions and responses that stakeholders identified as mitigating or exacerbating COVID‐19 risks in urban Indigenous communities. Data were collected and analysed during the height of the pandemic in 2021. We begin by introducing the characteristics of system thinking—the methodology that informed our research—and consider its use in Indigenous health research more broadly. We then outline our utilisation of system thinking and discuss how it was applied to the three workshops. System thinking contributes to collaboration and collective debate amongst stakeholders and aims to produce holistic understandings of complex problems, such as pandemics. This article provides a reflective overview of the benefits and challenges of applying system thinking in Indigenous health research whilst also sharing some of the research findings. We argue that centralising the voices of stakeholders, particularly Indigenous stakeholders, is critical to developing and implementing effective and culturally appropriate responses to pandemics and is equally as important to the preparedness for future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than three decades, official and independent enquiries have documented the poor outcomes experienced by many young people transitioning from out‐of‐home care (OOHC) in Australia, known as care leavers. Yet, until 2017, most of the state and territory governments cut off financial support to these vulnerable young people at no later than 18 years of age and failed to provide them with the ongoing material and relationship assistance into early adulthood guaranteed to most of their non‐care peers. Australia was regarded internationally as a leaving care laggard. This paper examines the remarkably effective advocacy strategies used by the Home Stretch campaign, formed in 2016, to persuade all Australian jurisdictions to extend OOHC until 21 years. By the end of 2022, every state and territory had agreed to introduce some form of extended care, and Australia was recognised as a global leader in leaving care policy and programmes provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of conviviality: the practice and negotiation of sharing space in suburbs with diverse populations. Australia has a growing Muslim population and reports of Islamophobia remain widespread. While there is some evidence, however, that forming intercultural connections can foster more positive attitudes toward religious minority groups, we know little about how Muslim and non‐Muslim communities share space in Australia. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative investigation into how conviviality is perceived in Australian suburbs with high concentrations of Muslim residents. Following qualitative, thematic analysis of 15 interviews with multicultural service providers who work with Muslims in Melbourne, Victoria, we conclude that conviviality is fostered by a sense of community between people who share similar backgrounds as well as increased opportunities to form intercultural social connections. We discuss the scholarly and policy implications of these findings, with consideration of existing arguments about the practices of sharing space in Australian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been instrumental in driving the development of the concept and practice of supported decision making. An important feature has been the development of "supported decision making pilots." This paper identifies, describes and analyses pilot programmes providing support for decision making for people with cognitive disabilities in Australia and internationally between 2016 and 2021. It finds that challenges included providing support for socially isolated people and adequately resourcing those programmes. However, most pilots reported positive outcomes for decision makers, adding to the evidence base for claims to be made about the positive impact of supported decision making on the lives of people with disabilities. The pilots demonstrate that, internationally, there is an emerging set of programmes that seek to promote supported decision making incrementally through developing focussed community awareness and practice. While still small‐scale, time‐limited and experimental, with different levels of rigour in practice and evaluation, they provide some foundation and a preliminary evidence base for larger interventions and reforms in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines household earnings arrangements and parenthood. Previous research has shown that parenthood is associated with a motherhood wage penalty with women withdrawing from the labour market or reducing their work hours. But few studies have examined within‐couple relative earnings and breadwinning arrangements across the transition to parenthood. We identify three types of households—"female‐breadwinner households" (where women earn more than 60 per cent of the couple's annual labour income); "male‐breadwinner households" (where women earn less than 40 per cent of the joint income); and "equal‐earner households" (where women earn 40 per cent to 60 per cent of the joint income). Using longitudinal data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and fixed effects models, we find a substantial decrease in the percentage of couples in equal‐earner households in the year prior to and after parenthood that is largely replaced by an increase in the percentage in male‐breadwinner households. We observe little return to pre‐parenthood earnings arrangements for equal‐earner and male‐breadwinner households. For female‐breadwinner households, we observe a gradual return to pre‐parenthood arrangements. These results provide evidence that parenthood is a major milestone contributing to gender inequality and highlight the importance of policies for reducing the impact of parenthood on women's earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While "good refugee" stories have the potential to soften attitudes toward forcibly displaced people, there are hidden implications associated with this construct that must be considered. Based on 60 qualitative interviews with asylum seekers and refugees, this paper examines the ways forced migrants adopt and reproduce "good refugee" discourses that unintentionally position their belonging as contingent upon upholding narrowly defined, and arbitrary, ideals about deservingness. By critically analysing this discourse, we highlight the importance of reconsidering the construction of refugees' deservingness along moral and neoliberal lines and instead present a case for approaches that focus on rights‐based, humanitarian grounds for refugee resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous employment has been the subject of numerous policies in Australia, with governments aiming to increase the workforce participation rate amongst Indigenous people in recent years. Indigenous‐owned businesses, formally defined as businesses that are at least 50% Indigenous‐owned, have been demonstrated in previous research to maintain substantially higher levels of proportional Indigenous employment than non‐Indigenous businesses. This suggests that Indigenous‐owned businesses maintain work environments that are more supportive of and conducive to Indigenous employment, meriting the influence of Indigenous‐owned businesses' workplace practices in future Indigenous employment policy design. Using administrative data from two Indigenous business registries (Black Business Finder and Supply Nation), this paper provides an updated empirical analysis of the Indigenous business sector. This paper demonstrates that Indigenous‐owned businesses of all sizes, industries, locations and profit statuses consistently average proportional Indigenous employment rates higher than the Indigenous proportional population. Of all the people employed in Supply Nation‐listed businesses, over 35% are Indigenous. The potential impact of the Indigenous Procurement Policy is illustrated by differentials in the size of businesses and their capacity to employ Indigenous staff. This paper provides analysis of the Indigenous business sector that can inform future policy direction for both Indigenous employment and Indigenous business policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The #BlackLivesMatter Movement has amplified the role of social media in visibilising anti‐Black violence. Drawing on the narratives and expertise of those who have experienced anti‐Black racism, this paper employs the theoretical concept of racial dignity to highlight how young African Australians participate in racial discourse on social media. The findings of this paper demonstrate that social media is a significant site where Black African youth reclaim racial dignity through: 1) reversing the white gaze; 2) recognising and calling out anti‐blackness; and 3) cultivating and engaging in communities of healing and belonging. Through these digital practices, Black African youth in Australia foster racial agency that promotes positive self‐recognition, racial resilience and racial dignity. We argue, therefore, that social media offer Black African young people in Australia spaces to engage in positive expressions of Afro‐blackness and challenge anti‐blackness in ways that are safer to them than in physical, offline settings in white contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on whether and how the World Health Organization (WHO) inspires age‐friendly policymaking across different levels of government. This is done via a case study in which we analyse the policies of Australia's three‐tiered federated government system against the WHO's eight core age‐friendly cities domains. Findings suggest that membership of the Global Network of Age‐Friendly Cities and Communities did not appear to overtly inspire the development of age‐friendly policies across Australian governments. Content analysis shows there is an overwhelming policy focus on care and support services, with little attention to cultural diversity. This reflects an outdated portrayal of debilitation in later life and a lack of recognition of how diverse circumstances impact the ageing process and corresponding support needs. Our findings also reveal the challenges of a three‐tiered federated system, where varying financial and authoritative capacities have influenced how different governments acknowledge and respond to population ageing. Notably, local governments—the main level of implementation targeted by the WHO—are invariably constrained in developing their own age‐friendly policies and may opt to adopt those of higher levels of government instead. These challenges will likely impact other resource‐limited governments in responding to the needs of their emerging ageing populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to most Western jurisdictions, social work in Australia is not currently a registered profession. However, in late 2021, the South Australian Parliament passed a Bill to register social workers in that state. This follows a long‐standing but previously unsuccessful campaign by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) to attain social work registration at a national level. Yet, to date, there has been no empirical research on the views of social workers—whether members or the AASW or not—concerning the merits of registration. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of the views of 15 social workers regarding registration. The findings suggest that the profession holds diverse views concerning the potential benefits or harms emanating from registration. Some conclusions are drawn regarding priorities for future research including particularly the impact of registration on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social workers and service users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Forgotten Australians" are the estimated half a million children who were placed in institutional care in Australia from the 1920s to the 1980s. Increasing numbers are entering older age but many are poorly positioned to age well and with the supports they need. This is often because the lasting effects of childhood institutional care have contributed to poor housing outcomes, including housing insecurity, reliance on social housing, prevalence of rental stress and experiences of homelessness. This paper presents a review of the evidence on the housing experiences and outcomes of people who spent time in childhood institutional care. The evidence review was complemented by qualitative interviews with community service practitioners and representatives of advocacy groups. Based on the prior evidence and fieldwork, we identify data and service gaps that are likely to undermine the capacity of the housing and aged care sectors to improve the care and supports available for Forgotten Australians. We suggest potential improvements to service delivery for people who experienced institutional care as children and directions for further research. This paper contributes to a stronger evidence base around the housing and care needs of Forgotten Australians in mid‐ and later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the growing body of research that demonstrates uneven impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on educational outcomes of students from different socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. We evaluate the early impacts of COVID‐19 on student attendance in secondary school and show how these impacts depend on students' SES. We employ a quasi‐experimental design, using difference‐in‐differences (DiD) estimation extended to incorporate third‐order differences over time between low‐SES and other students, and pre‐ versus during‐COVID‐19, leveraging robust administrative data extracted from the registers of the Tasmanian Department of Education. Using data from multiple cohorts of secondary school students in government schools in Tasmania (N = 14,135), we find that while the attendance rates were similar pre‐ and during‐COVID‐19 for high‐SES students, there was a significant drop in attendance rates during COVID‐19 among socioeconomically disadvantaged students, demonstrating the more pronounced impacts of COVID‐19 for these students. The findings demonstrate that even "relatively short" lockdowns, as those in Tasmania in 2020 (30–40 days of home learning), can significantly affect the learning experiences of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. We discuss the implications of this for future pandemic planning in educational policy and practice and how this needs to be addressed in Australia's COVID‐19 recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of increasing welfare conditionality, governmental responses to homelessness in Australia continue to be influenced by neoliberal discourses of personal responsibility. This is reflected in their emphasis on individualised interventions and lack of attention to structural drivers of homelessness. Research examining these issues has primarily focused on policies and practices aiming to responsibilise individuals' conduct, and less so on how those with lived experiences view and apportion responsibility for homelessness. In recognition of this gap, this paper reports findings from a qualitative study examining the views of responsibility expressed by nine individuals with lived experiences of homelessness. Findings demonstrate that participants recognised their own responsibilities, yet also highlighted significant constraints on individual agency associated with being homeless and emphasised unmet responsibilities of governments. Our analysis demonstrates how participants' views contrast with neoliberal discourses of personal responsibility, and problematise notions of "fair reciprocity" on which they are premised. We argue their views can be interpreted as supporting alternative notions of shared responsibility for homelessness. These findings have implications for policy and practice and highlight the need to further engage with lived experience perspectives to advance more effective and socially just responses to homelessness in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retirement incomes and aged care have both received considerable policy attention in Australia over the last three decades, but as in other countries, the two financing systems have remained largely separate in policy and practice. The problem is located at the intersection of wider policy debates about shifts from public to private welfare and concerns over intergenerational equity. This paper aims to integrate these related debates by incorporating aged care into the "pillars" framework used to understand retirement incomes. We propose an Aged Care Superannuation Levy applied to superannuation fund earnings, winding back the large and growing public tax concessions that support this pillar of private defined contribution pensions in Australia's retirement income system. This revenue would create a social insurance pillar for aged care to stand alongside the four other pillars of retirement incomes that interact variously with aged care financing. Interest in a social insurance pillar of aged care financing is renewed in the light of the Royal Commission into quality and safety of aged care that reported in February 2021. As the Royal Commission recommendations on financing were divided and not taken up in government policy, the way remains opens for further consideration of the alternative approach proposed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to inform the design of individualised funding schemes via an examination of discourses and experiences of choice related to people with psychosocial disability. Mind Australia, in partnership with Deakin University, interviewed 22 individuals with psychosocial disability who are recipients of individual funding packages in three National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) trial sites across Australia. This research involved examining the policy and assumptions of choice under the NDIS, as well as the experience of undertaking choice through individualised funding arrangements which position people with psychosocial disability as consumers in a market place of service provision. The findings demonstrate that choice is an ongoing activity and that at every stage personal, programmatic and market barriers impact individuals' capacity to maximise choice. The intent of government policy to provide choice to individual funding recipients based on an optimally functioning market place with empowered self‐actualising individuals collides with a complex reality where barriers abound at every stage of the choice making process. Enhancing choice making of people with psychosocial disability within the NDIS requires governments and services to explicitly address the personal, programmatic and market‐based barriers to choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the range of initiatives offered across Australia to support the attraction, retention and progression of girls and women to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers. A mapping exercise, conducted by the author as part of the development of the Decadal Plan for Women in STEM for the Australian Academy of Science, provided an overview of 337 programmes and initiatives offered nationally, the majority of which were university scholarships. Academia, industry and government are the main providers of these initiatives, with collaborations common between all the different stakeholder groups identified. Of all the initiatives mapped, only seven had publicly facing evaluation data, of which one went beyond self‐reports of satisfaction and enjoyment. The myriad initiatives show a concerted effort to engage girls and women in STEM, but the absence of any meaningful evidence of impact means we simply do not know whether these initiatives are benefiting girls and women and achieving the desired policy outcomes or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by the prevalence and severity of domestic and family violence (DFV) perpetrated by men against women in Australia. The impact of their experiences is further exacerbated by the level of social and cultural marginalisation affecting Indigenous communities, families and individuals along with regional, rural or remote living. The pervasive, ongoing impact of colonisation, dispossession and transgenerational trauma continues to shape the experiences of Indigenous women and their communities, including their help‐seeking decisions and opportunities, and their level of trust in and access to adequate and culturally sensitive support services. In this paper, we explore the experiences of Indigenous women affected by DFV in two regional Australian settings through face‐to‐face interviews with women (n = 13) and community stakeholders (n = 18). The findings of this study highlight the complex role of social and cultural marginalisation, spiritual (dis)connectedness and role of family as both a stressor and a protective factor. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]