Mongolian and Australian Women's Journeys of Survival, Recovery and Remaking of Self through and beyond Domestic Violence.
Dr. Marion Oke - Counselling Psychologist in Ballarat and Melbourne
My feminist, narrative research privileges women's voice. It comprises a cross-cultural narrative analysis of 11 Mongolian and 11 Australian women’s stories of survival, recovery and remaking of self following domestic/intimate partner violence. I identified plots and themes of individual autobiographical narratives, around general themes of survival, recovery and remaking of self, with a major focus on narrative identity. Relevant canonical narratives, being general stories of lives arising from dominant discourses in a particular culture, were also identified. The research process was discursive and reflexive, with myself as researcher hearing, bearing witness to and reflecting on the women’s stories. The women responded to their own stories, which were then shared among participants, allowing further reflection and response. There was some evidence that the Mongolian women may have moved further away from the violence and its effects than their Australian counterparts. The Mongolian women were undertaking their journeys of survival and recovery in a context of major societal crises, the aftermath of the collapse of the Socialist state and the Mongolian economy. Perhaps, even within this context, the cohesive nature of the Mongolian women’s family support, particularly strong support from their mothers, strengthened their narrative identities, giving them resilienceIn this presentation I outline my research method and findings, including some excerpts from the Mongolian and Australian women's stories. I reflect on the denouement of the women's narratives, their respective narrative identities reflecting a remaking of self through and beyond domestic violence.
The Future of Managerial Leadership
Uma Jogulu - School of Business, UB
The early theories on leadership focused exclusively on men, and hence rendered women invisible in this forum. Women were not perceived as leaders, and such views would have influenced the perceptions of organisational decision makers resulting in the subsequent exclusion of women from roles of management or leadership within an organisational context.
However, the evolution of these early theories occurred when there were very few women in paid employment, but when they did join the workforce their roles were more typically that of helper or assistant. In this body of literature women were not taken into account as possible leaders and effective leadership characteristics were defined in traditionally ‘masculine’ terms i.e. assertive, dominant, decisive and task focused.
More recently, contemporary leadership theories have moved on to embrace female characteristics in describing effective leadership behaviours. A review of the contemporary leadership literature suggests that there is a call for “feminine leadership”. That is, attributes such as nurturing, caring, ability to communicate well, participative decision making and collaboration with staff has began to gain recognition as characteristics equated to effective leadership.
The shift in the literature was also accompanied by the changing nature of organisations. Today, contemporary organisations are characterised by flatter structures, and a philosophy which embraces continuous improvement and organisational learning. Frequently, such organisations adopt a high degree of teamwork as opposed to individual input. Such a workplace also requires less direct, authoritative leadership, and a higher degree of self-management amongst empowered employees.
Therefore based on the recent development in empirical studies in leadership literature, coupled with the growing numbers of women in management roles, the presentation aims to explore whether there would be more positive outcome for the career advancement of women in management, particularly in senior or executive roles in organisations.
Violence Against Women, a Health Issue: providing training to health professionals
Liz Olle - Freelance Feminist and Community Services Consultant
This paper and the work it discusses is based on the interactive educational module, Medical Responses to Adults who have Experienced Sexual Assault RANZCOG, East Melbourne, 2005; and a paper presented at the Violence Against Women workshop at the Royal Women’s Hospital 150th Anniversary Conference, Melbourne, 31 March 2007. The health impacts of violence against women are now widely recognised (VicHealth 2004). A 2007 survey of British medical schools noted that over 60% of the respondent schools curricula did not include sexual assault. This picture is unmapped in Australia. Some undergraduates have access to elective units; some graduates have access to elective continuing professional development (CPD) training. This paper looks at what was learned from, the experience of delivering CPD training to health professionals about responding to violence against women. In 2005 and 2006 the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) provided doctors and other health professionals with training to promote recognition of the health impacts of violence against women, and to provide appropriate and timely health care. The training was delivered in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. Its aim was to provide a new ‘diagnostic lens’ through which to focus what might otherwise appear to be disparate and unconnected, even inexplicable symptoms or health issues. I also discuss what we might take from this experience to continue to build towards embedding, at undergraduate level in all health disciplines, formal training about responding to violence against women.
Dr Patrice Braun, Deputy Director - Centre for Regional Innovation & Competitiveness (CRIC)
Through its impact on transactions, communications and problem solving, the digital economy is increasing opportunities for business and changing the nature of how we work - this may provide an advantage to women. The digital economy represents an important new dimension because ICT is reducing the importance of location and a ‘standard’ day, changing the way businesses and organisations operate. This changes the competitive conditions for Australia’s regions and increases the importance of innovation and the associated human and social capital, skills and education. As regional skill shortages loom and as women demonstrate success in both public and private organisations, there is a growing need to understand how to better use this important resource. This paper reports on a work in progress that seeks to contribute to reducing regional skills shortages by providing women in small business with the skills they need to participate in the digital economy. The seminar discusses the theory and proposed action research framework to develop gender-sensitive evidence-based training in which women’s ways of communication and work are instrumental in creating the evidence base. With a focus on providing a central resource for women in small to medium (SME) business settings, it is anticipated that the ensuing skilling framework will be optimised and replicable to benefit digital economy skilling needs in a variety of business settings across regions.
This paper is a reflection on a variety of research methods that I have employed in order to highlight women’s issues across a range of topics. Methodologies have ranged across Delphi, Grounded Theory, Action Research and Participant Observation. Topics have included how women principals see their role; the needs of shiftworking women and child care; implementation of new curricula; developing learning communities; working with functional stress; encouraging women as researchers.
Although none of the methodologies was in and of itself developed by and for feminism, the ways in which they are employed do indeed offer the opportunity to shed a feminist light on subjects of importance to women.
Parental employment in Australia and Sweden: gendered trajectories or personal choice?
Nadine Zacharias, School of Business, UB
The perception that employment decisions of parents are the outcome of personal choice is common in both popular media and academic writing with Hakim’s (1991, 1994) preference theory being the most prominent of the latter. However, my PhD research into the take-up of statutory parental leave benefits in Australia and Sweden shows that institutional provisions have an important influence on parents’ employment decisions and may override personal preferences. There are strong country-specific patterns of take-up which are clearly related to the design of the national parental leave legislation. Importantly, the take-up patterns as well as the normative ideals which underlie the parental leave legislation are highly gendered. The comparison suggests that parental leave legislation sets mothers and fathers onto gendered trajectories which continue long after the leave periods have expired and which may not necessarily be aligned with personal preference.
Everyday victimization of adolescent girls by boys: Sexual harassment, bullying or aggression?
Professor Rosalyn Shute - Director of Pscyhology, School of BSSH, UB
Sexual harassment of high school girls by boys appears commonplace, yet studies of aggression and bullying rarely yield sexualized material. This study used neutral language in focus groups and interviews to access the perceptions of girls, boys and teachers about the victimization of girls by boys. Verbal and indirect victimization were everyday occurrences, and almost entirely sexual. The boys acknowledged girls’ ability to retaliate through relationship manipulation. Findings are discussed in the light of definitions of sexual harassment, bullying and aggression, and it is concluded that Duncan’s (1999) term “sexual bullying” appropriately captures the gendered power structure underlying these behaviors. As such, these behaviors need to be understood in terms of broad cultural issues rather than simply individual pathologies.
The Interrelations between Sexual Orientation, Sense of Belonging and Depression Among Australian Women
Dr. Suzanne McLaren - Senior Lecturer of Psychology- School of BSSH, UB
The research examined the relationships between sense of belonging and depression among lesbians and heterosexual women. Australian female heterosexuals (n = 202) and lesbians (n = 184) completed the Sense of Belonging Instrument and the Depression subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales. Results indicated that lesbians experienced a decreased sense of belonging and more depression compared with heterosexual women. Subsequent analyses indicated that sense of belonging to the community mediated the relation between sexual orientation and depression. In addition, sexual orientation moderated the relation between sense of belonging and depression. When analysing the results of the lesbians only, results indicated that sense of belonging to the general community mediated the relation between sense of belonging to the lesbian community and depression. Results imply that by enhancing a sense of belonging to both communities, levels of depression reported by lesbians will be reduced.
Margaret Camilleri - PhD Researcher, School of Education, UB
Women who have a cognitive impairment are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault, yet very few assaults are reported. Once reported very few cases manage to find their way through the justice system. The research on which this paper is based used a range of qualitative methods designed to better understand the reasons why reports of sexual assault made to police by victims with cognitive impairment exit the justice system. Data collected to date includes a series of focus group discussions with advocates, and members of Victoria police including Sexual offences and Child Abuse Units and Criminal Investigation Units. Focus groups were held across Victoria including rural, regional and metropolitan locations. Data is analysed within a modified Grounded Theory framework and will also be subjected to ‘repetitive repertoire’ analysis. Early findings indicate that prosecutors apply varying levels of discretion when making decisions about the progress or exit of sexual assault reports. In applying discretion, decision makers draw on their own knowledge and experience of situations and people. These views include that victims with cognitive impairment are less affected by the trauma of sexual assault and that they cannot stand up to the rigor of the justice system process. These views have a negating affect on the experience of the assault and are likely to lead to the exit of the reports from the justice system.
Dr Lorene Gottschalk - Senior Lecturer in Management, School of Business, UB
This paper is part of a larger project exploring the social and political implications of transgenderism for groups, organisations, institutions and for policy formation. One aim of transgender lobby groups such as Press For Change in the UK and the Australian W.O.M.A.N Network (AWN), is the right of male to female trans-women (MTFs) to enter what were previously understood to be ‘gendered’ spaces both those which are state funded and those which are privately funded. Trans-women may be pre or post operative. There is both strong support and strong resistance among women born women for the recognition of trans-women as ‘real’ women. The ‘gendered spaces’ to which trans-women seek access include crisis housing for women, domestic violence refuges, women’s and lesbian festivals. This development has led to significant court cases and judgements in British Columbia, Canada (2004) where a court found on appeal from Vancouver Rape Relief that a transsexual did not have the right to be trained for the sexual assault crisis line as this was a service that was dedicated to the needs of a particular social group. In Australia there was a court case in 2003 around the right of the annual Lesbian Conference and Festival, to be held that year in Victoria, to exclude trans-women which was won by the transgender lobby group and which led to the festival being cancelled.
Censoring the Deviant: The Politics of Researching Women's Prison Graffiti
Dr. Jacqueline Wilson - School of Social Sciences, LaTrobe University
The paper has a dual focus. Firstly it discusses the author's experience of having a proposed conference paper on women's prison graffiti publicly declared "bad history" by a tabloid journalist, on no other grounds than that its title included the word "gender". The title had appeared on the conference website and was identified, along with a number of others on the same program, by conservative historian Keith Windschuttle, who included it in a speech in which he supposedly "deconstructed" the conference agenda by simply counting the titles on topics he found objectionable. The paper argues that this action and its sequel in the populist press were symptomatic of a growing malaise in public intellectual life in Australia which amounts to censoring history -- especially women's history -- and related disciplines, and othering scholars and researchers working in such fields. This effectively relegates a range of historical minority groups in the eyes of research-funding bodies.The second focus of the paper is the graffiti itself, and the various ways in which its representation and interpretation provide insights into the condition of imprisonment for women. Such a study, it is argued, highlights the importance of fostering research into groups and sectors of society whose stories are deemed in some quarters to be unworthy of attention.
