Search

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jrc-10.1177_00224278221150280 for Vulnerability in the Neighborhood: A Study of Perceived Control Over Victimization by Chloe Keel, Rebecca Wickes, Murray Lee, Jonathan Jackson, and Kathryn Benier in Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

Women report a heightened worry about crime partly because women perceive themselves as more vulnerable to crime than men. Yet, where women and men live likely influence these perceptions. This thesis explored the relationship between the neighbourhood context and gender differences in perceptions of vulnerability. Findings revealed gendered pathways to worry about crime through perceived vulnerability which were attributable to the neighbourhood contexts. Neighbourhood factors such as prevalence of crime weakened women’s perceptions of control and heightened men's perceptions of control. The results of this thesis have implications for women’s and men's safety, in addition to community crime prevention.

This brief provides an overview of the key findings relating to domestic and family violence from the report Migrant and Refugee Women in Australia: The Safety and Security Study by Monash University. The key findings offer an important insight into migrant and refugee women’s experiences of and attitudes towards domestic and family violence, issues that have been under explored in existing literature. As migrant and refugee women are currently a national priority in the context of domestic and family violence, capturing quantitative data with this specificity of focus is of critical importance.

This briefing paper draws on findings from a major study focusing on experiences of safety and security among migrant and refugee women in Australia. We focus here on findings relating to participants’ levels of trust across a number of institutions. A lack of institutional trust can impact social, economic, and political participation and negatively impact willingness to seek help and cooperate with various institutional actors. The findings from this study offer an evidence base to guide decision-making around allocating resources to support the needs of migrant and refugee women in Australia, and in the development of strategies that respond to the factors that undermine trust in state institutions, including the police.

This briefing paper draws on findings from a major study focusing on experiences of safety and security among migrant and refugee women in Australia. We focus here on findings relating to participants’ experiences of victimisation and race-related crime violence.

This report examines how organisations working with diverse communities use digital communication and online platforms to bridge social cohesion and inclusion during crisis events. Amid the COVID-19 lockdown periods in Australia, researchers from the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre interviewed 23 key stakeholders who work directly with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Victoria. These included NGOs, educational institutions, community stakeholders and leaders, advocacy groups, multicultural organisations, local government representatives, and peak bodies. The interviews with these stakeholders provided deeper understandings of how programand service delivery modes shifted, how technology was harnessed, the strategies employed to connect with diverse groups, and the opportunities and challenges that emerged when transitioning services into the online sphere.This report presents these results followed by a discussion of immediately relevant and applicable next steps for stakeholders who work with diverse communities.

The growth in Australia’s population from increased immigration is changing the ethnic, socio-structural and physical landscapes of urban neighbourhoods and significantly altering relationships within these areas (Australian Government, 2013; Hugo, 2008). These changes can be enormously positive, but can also pose a challenge for the development and maintenance of neighbourhood networks and social inclusion. With a sizeable number of Australians viewing immigration as a strain on economic resources and a threat to Australian identity and values (Dunn, Forrest, Burnley, & McDonald, 2004; Kamp, Alam, Blair, & Dunn, 2017), there is an urgent need to better understand the contextual dynamics that shape interethnic relationships.Despite a long history of largely successful multicultural policies and programs, recent surveys in Australia reveal that approximately 30 per cent of Australians do not believe that immigration from diverse countries makes us stronger and, further, they consider the current intake of immigrants as ‘too high’ (Markus, 2018). Negative attitudes against Muslims are also increasing (Markus, 2018) and native-born Australians are more likely to report high levels of social disorder and withdrawal from some aspects of community life in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods (Wickes, Hipp, Zahnow, & Mazerolle, 2013; Wickes, Zahnow, White, & Mazerolle, 2013). These findings suggest that although immigration brings national economic, social and cultural benefits, there is growing endorsement of exclusivist attitudes towards migrants.Countering exclusivist discourses can only succeed if initiatives address the underlying factors that allow these narratives to resonate with individuals. Evidence from other countries suggests that socially harmful exclusivism concentrates in neighbourhoods, especially segregated neighbourhoods and those with large proportions of non-White/European residents (Ramalingam, Glennie and Feve, 2012). In Australia, and specifically Victoria, we know little about the spatial concentration of socially harmful exclusivism as no large-scale Australian study examines whether these attitudes cluster in particular neighbourhoods. Furthermore, we do not know how and under what conditions these attitudes may lead to potentially harmful actions.This report examines the individual-level drivers of social exclusivism while also considering the role of the neighbourhood context and neighbourhood cohesion. A key goal of this research was to better understand the ways in which the local context encourages or prevents the development of exclusivist sentiments, attitudes and endorsement of actions that seek to exclude migrants, especially in areas experiencing significant changes in the ethnic composition. Linked to this goal was a focus on identifying the specific characteristics of the local context that distinguish areas with higher levels of socially harmful exclusivism from those with lower levels.

The growth in Australia’s population from increased immigration is changing the ethnic, socio-structural and physical landscapes of urban neighbourhoods and significantly altering relationships within these areas (Australian Government, 2013; Hugo, 2008). These changes can be enormously positive, but can also pose a challenge for the development and maintenance of neighbourhood networks and social inclusion. With a sizeable number of Australians viewing immigration as a strain on economic resources and a threat to Australian identity and values (Dunn, Forrest, Burnley, & McDonald, 2004; Kamp, Alam, Blair, & Dunn, 2017), there is an urgent need to better understand the contextual dynamics that shape interethnic relationships.Despite a long history of largely successful multicultural policies and programs, recent surveys in Australia reveal that approximately 30 per cent of Australians do not believe that immigration from diverse countries makes us stronger and, further, they consider the current intake of immigrants as ‘too high’ (Markus, 2018). Negative attitudes against Muslims are also increasing (Markus, 2018) and native-born Australians are more likely to report high levels of social disorder and withdrawal from some aspects of community life in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods (Wickes, Hipp, Zahnow, & Mazerolle, 2013; Wickes, Zahnow, White, & Mazerolle, 2013). These findings suggest that although immigration brings national economic, social and cultural benefits, there is growing endorsement of exclusivist attitudes towards migrants.Countering exclusivist discourses can only succeed if initiatives address the underlying factors that allow these narratives to resonate with individuals. Evidence from other countries suggests that socially harmful exclusivism concentrates in neighbourhoods, especially segregated neighbourhoods and those with large proportions of non-White/European residents (Ramalingam, Glennie and Feve, 2012). In Australia, and specifically Victoria, we know little about the spatial concentration of socially harmful exclusivism as no large-scale Australian study examines whether these attitudes cluster in particular neighbourhoods. Furthermore, we do not know how and under what conditions these attitudes may lead to potentially harmful actions.This report examines the individual-level drivers of social exclusivism while also considering the role of the neighbourhood context and neighbourhood cohesion. A key goal of this research was to better understand the ways in which the local context encourages or prevents the development of exclusivist sentiments, attitudes and endorsement of actions that seek to exclude migrants, especially in areas experiencing significant changes in the ethnic composition. Linked to this goal was a focus on identifying the specific characteristics of the local context that distinguish areas with higher levels of socially harmful exclusivism from those with lower levels.

This brief provides an overview of academic and grey literature on the role of technology to facilitate intercultural engagement. We focus on the practices undertaken by three key sectors – NGOs and local government, education, and community organisations – that seek to strengthen communication among diverse groups. Much of this research has highlighted that intercultural digital engagement remains more informative than interactive. There is also a need to integrate such engagement collaboratively with diverse groups to ensure there is a transfer of technological knowledge and skills.