Melbourne was in shock following the rape and murder of well-loved comedian Eurydice Dixon on the 12 June 2018 as she was walking home from a comedy event. A vigil was held near where Eurydice Dixon died in Princess Park the following week and was attended by the over 10,000 people. Following the vigil, Julie Kun, CEO of WIRE (Women’s Information and Referral Exchange Inc), wrote the following article, posted on WIRE’s Facebook page and reposted with permission here.

Julie Kun is the CEO of WIRE, the only Victoria-wide free generalist information, support and referral service run by women for women.

Issues, AdvocacyPower to Persuade26 July 2018violence against women, Sexual violence, gender

Beyond NAIDOC 2018: Our Responsibility to Celebrate the Voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

The theme for this year's NAIDOC Week, held from 8-15 July 2018, was "Because of her, we can". In the following article, republished from IndigenousX with permission, Antoniette Braybrook calls for the ongoing celebration and acknowledgment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, who work tirelessly for the community, and whose views and experiences are often invisible to policy-makers. Antoinette Braybrook is the CEO of Djirra (formerly the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service Victoria) and the National Convenor of the National Family Violence Prevention Legal Services Forum. She also tweets @BraybrookA

Investing in a resilient generation

The University of Birmingham (UK) has launched a Policy Commission report calling for increased investment in the prevention of poor mental health. The report comes at a time when half of life-long mental health problems show their first signs by the age of 15, and three quarters by the age of 25, and evidence that the rates of mental health problems amongst young people are increasing. The Commission Report, therefore, identifies childhood and adolescence as a critical opportunity to prevent and promote better mental health. In this post, Karen Newbigging discusses the report and implications from this work.

How could primary care services become more accessible and acceptable to vulnerable young people?

Mental health problems in young people are increasing. Suicide remains a leading cause of death in those aged 15-24 worldwide. The majority of mental health problems develop before the age of 25 but have their roots usually in childhood and teenage years. If left untreated, mental health problems can persist into adulthood with poorer prognosis and greater disability over the life course. In this blog post, Maria Michail, Jo Robinson, Tina Yutong Li, Sadhbh Byrne explore how primary care services can become more accessible and acceptable to vulnerable young people. This post has been co-produced with young people with lived experience of mental-ill health and highlights the importance of making primary care health services more accessible, acceptable and equitable for vulnerable young people.

Edging towards gender equity in the Timor-Leste parliament

Dr Kate Neely and Stephanie Amir from the Melbourne School of Government at the University of Melbourne explore issues of gender representation in Timor-Leste, which has implemented gender quotas across parliament to strengthen the voice of women as equal partners. They reflect on the legitimacy of decision-making in this context the road ahead for Timor-Leste.

Power to Persuade13 July 2018Gender Inequity, government

Using accessible approaches in evidence-making: Perspectives of people with intellectual disability about their employment choices

Doing things with us not for us - Dr Ariella Meltzer reinforces the need for the voice of people with intellectual disability and the importance of expanding social enterprise employment options. She examines the case for supports social policies and programs is based on the lived experiences and views of beneficiaries.

Power to Persuade13 July 2018

Women and unpaid care

Women provide the lion’s share of unpaid work. In Australia, it is estimated that women spend an average of 64% of their ‘work’ time in an unpaid capacity, while for men the average is much lower, at 36%. In today’s analysis, Amy Webster of Women’s Health Victoria (@WHVictoria) provides a summary of how unpaid care negatively impacts on women, and how multiple identities, including single parent status, having a disability, and women from CALD backgrounds, add complexity to care work. This analysis is a summary of the recently-released Spotlight on Women and unpaid care.

Asleep at the wheel? Governing Australia’s Institutions

Alison Brown explores the various dimensions that contribute to robust governance.

Power to Persuade10 July 2018Governance, Boards

What’s in a name? Is ‘looking after myself’ the same as ‘self-management’?

Policy makers and service providers are looking to self-management, particularly of chronic illness, to maximise limited health resources. Despite increasing use of the term “self-management”, however, this terminology does not appear to resonate with consumers. Meg Polacsek, PhD candidate, considers whether policymakers should be using the same language as those who are affected most by their decisions.

Power to Persuade10 July 2018Chronic disease, Self-management, Lived/consumer experience

Lessons on Child and forced marriage: reflections on progress towards global eradication

One in five girls globally is married before her 18th birthday, representing 650 million girls. While this number is high, it has dropped significantly in the past 10 years, when the ratio was one in four. This is a serious breach of human rights – one that extends to within the borders of Australia.

Recently the largest-ever gathering on child marriage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—The Global Meeting of Girls Not Brides: Global Partnership to End Child Marriage (The Global Meeting). 500 delegates from over 70 countries joined together over three days to connect, learn and strategise toward a common goal: allowing every girl, everywhere, to fulfil her potential. Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand’s Laura Vidal was the only delegate to participate from Australia and shares some of her insights.

Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tank9 July 2018Children, human rights, Slavery

The marshmallow test and the crisis in social policy

Two very significant studies were published in May. On the face of it they had little relation to each other, but together they have shattered powerful myths that have brought our social policy to the point of crisis. In this post, Atif Shafique explores what all this might mean, and how we can use this moment to redesign social policy for the better. This post originally appeared on the RSA blog.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade6 July 2018social welfare

Reflections on the usefulness of the Lankelly Chase System Behaviours

Lankelly Chase is a UK-based charity that works to support organisations that address ‘severe and multiple disadvantage’ though an approach that is deeply and explicitly systemic, reflecting the interlocking nature of social harms such as mental illness, offending, homelessness, abuse, drug misuse, and the poverty that generates them. Recently Lankelly Chase has released a set of 'core behaviours' that they argue help systems function better for people facing severe and multiple disadvantage. In this post, Toby Lowe reflects on the behaviors and their implications for the social sector, a reflection that is just as relevant to Australia as it is to the UK. This post originally appeared on Toby's blog.

IssuesPower to Persuade6 July 2018social welfare, Disadvantage

Networking cities, policy learning and just sustainabilities

As national and international governments struggle with political inertia, particularly when it comes to addressing climate change and implementing sustainable development policies, cities have emerged as places of action and innovation. In this post, Christina Schlegel and Julian Agyeman explore the emergence, power and possibility of this trend and how it might address many of global challenges we face. This post originally appeared on Julian's blog.

IssuesPower to Persuade5 July 2018environment

Building stronger schools is everyone’s business

The Education Equity Coalition, under the auspices of VCOSS, has recently launched the Stronger Schools campaign. This coalition comprises a range of social service, youth, and education agencies, and has collaborated to create an action plan for inclusive education. The eight components that make up the platform are designed to address holistic, comprehensive support that will support all children and young people to stay engaged in education.

In today’s blog post, Jessie Mitchell from the Youth Affairs Council Victoria (@YACVic) explains why YACVic supports the Stronger Schools campaign, and how the community sector can support schools to keep children and young people engaged. This blog post originally appeared on the YACVic web site, and can be found here.

IssuesPower to Persuade2 July 2018education, Children, Diversity

What counts as work and income for parents in the new economy? An opportunity lost in the roll out of the new Child Care Package

Today the government’s new Child Care Package is being rolled out. While it may be a positive for middle-class families who earn their incomes in a ‘traditional’ manner, the implications for families in more precarious employment is not so clear. In today’s post, Kay Cook (@KayCookPhD) of Swinburne University walks us through the new package and what it means for workers who are increasingly reliant on precious employment.

Modern Slavery Bill a step in the right direction – now businesses must comply

This week has seen a significant milestone in the fight against modern slavery as the Modern Slavery Bill was introduced into the Australian parliament. When passed, the law will require companies with an annual turnover of more than $100 million to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and on the actions to address these. Fiona McGaughey (University of Western Australia) and Justine Nolan (UNSW) explain more.

Where’s the Gender-osity? Women lose as the federal government reduces the aid budget to record lows

A fall-out from the Federal budget that is not on every Australian’s radar is the staggering cuts to the international aid program. In today’s piece, Stacey Batterham (@s_batt) of the Oaktree Foundation (@OaktreeAU) argues that a commitment to promoting gender equality via the Australian aid program is undermined by the dearth of funding available to programs that make a critical difference to women and their families.

Why we don't need to prepare young people for the 'future of work'

While there is little consensus about the “future of work”, one thing is certain – young people are at the coalface. Young workers experience insufficient opportunities for work experience, a mismatch between work and education, a lack of career management skills and scant entry-level jobs, according to a report from the Foundation for Young Australians. In this post, Shirley Jackson from the University of Melbourne, says we need to stop fixating on increasing the supply of talented young people, and start addressing the lack of demand.

Who gets what? Who pays for it? How incomes, taxes and benefits work out for Australians

In this post, first published in the Conversation, Professor Peter Whiteford explains the effects of government benefits and taxes on household income, including the impact on income inequality.

Finance and economics, Policy and governancePower to Persuade27 June 2018tax, income, social inequalities

When it comes to childcare, grandparents are the least stressful option for mum and dad

As any mother or father will tell you, being a parent is hard. Being successful at it is highly dependent on the personal and material resources of parents, and the emotional, mental and physical needs of children. There is a culture of expectation around parents, especially mothers, to be “good” parents, regardless of their children’s needs or challenges. Some people find parenting very stressful, which can cause a form of psychological strain known as parenting stress. In this post, Brendan Churchill and Lyn Craig from the University of Melbourne, discuss parenting stress and what reduces it.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade27 June 2018gender, care work

Blog

THIS WEEK’S MODERATOR