Youth partnership in suicide prevention research: A co-designed GP guide for young people with self-harm or suicidal experiences.
Youth partnership in suicide prevention research: A co-designed GP guide for young people with self-harm or suicidal experiences.

Young people with lived experience of self-harm or suicidal behaviour should be at the forefront of designing, evaluating and implementing suicide prevention research.

Controversial? Unfeasible? Risky?

You name it. As a suicide prevention researcher I have heard it all…by funders, ethics committees, Higher Education Health and Safety committees to name a few.

In this blog, I (Dr Maria Michail) share my experience of working in partnership with young people with lived experience of self-harm and suicidal behaviour to co-design of a guide titled “Visiting your General Practitioner: A guide for young people with lived experience of self-harm and suicidality”.

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Advocacy, Creating using evidence, Innovation, Policy and governance, Service DeliveryPower to Persuademental health, implementation, young people, data and evidence for advocacy
Appearance at work: The future of workplace dress codes
Appearance at work: The future of workplace dress codes

In this punchy piece about gender discrimination and employee dress codes, Dr Briony Lipton (@briony_lipton) discusses work clothing in the time of coronavirus. With reference to the Department of Home Affairs’ attempts to ban sleeveless blouses from video calls for employees working at home, Dr Lipton explores changing norms of workplace attire and the confusion they can entail…

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IssuesPower to Persuadedress codes, women, gender, women and work
Improving biodiversity conservation outcomes with relational value
Improving biodiversity conservation outcomes with relational value

In this short but powerful piece, PhD scholar and ANZSOG researcher Patrick Lucas (@paustinlucas) discusses how nature is valued in very different ways by different social groups, and how current policy frameworks struggle to account for this diversity. He explores the emerging framework of “relational values” and its potential to lead to more equitable and just outcomes in biodiversity conservation.

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Policy and governance, IssuesPower to Persuadebiodiversity, conservation, environment
Young People, Lowering the Voting Age & COVID-19 
Young People, Lowering the Voting Age & COVID-19 

Without representation, young people are struggling to get their voices heard in the decisions that affect them. Lowering the voting age to 16 is one integral way the government can reinvigorate the interest of young people in their democracy, argues Jordan Maloney, ANU Political Science and Sociology student and policy adviser

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Innovation, Policy and governancePower to PersuadePolitics and democracy, young people, Policy making
Debt collection practices and women’s safety
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.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action TankCOVID-19, financial vulnerability, financial resilience, family violence
The gendered nature of JobSeeker
The gendered nature of JobSeeker

The Federal Government’s Women’s Safety Summit indicates a keen interest in doing more to keep women safe; however, social security settings were not a focus of the agenda, despite the central role that financial security plays in securing women’s safety and agency. In today’s analysis, Lily Gardener and Policy Whisperer Susan Maury of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy), and Frances Davies of the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) argue that the JobSeeker Payment, originally designed for younger unemployed men, is disproportionately exacerbating poverty for women. This analysis is part of the NFAW (@NFAWomen) Gender Lens on the Budget series, drawing on the income support analysis.

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Womens Policy Action TankDr Susan MauryJobSeeker, Social Welfare, Gender equality, Gender Inequity
Explainer: Why JobSeeker is below the poverty line, and why it matters for gender equality
Explainer: Why JobSeeker is below the poverty line, and why it matters for gender equality

Gender inequality takes many shapes, embedding into systems and structures in ways that may be hidden. In today’s analysis, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) and Lily Gardener of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) and Frances Davies of the National Foundation for Australia Women (NFAW) provides a thorough analysis of how Australia’s social security settings, by maintaining the sole use of the CPI in most income support payments is disproportionately exacerbating poverty for women. This analysis is part of the NFAW (@NFAWomen) Gender Lens on the Budget series, drawing on the Indexing analysis, as well as on Good Shepherd’s submission on the adequacy of the Newstart Allowance.

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Womens Policy Action TankDr Susan MaurySocial Welfare, JobSeeker, Gender equality
How social security works against women’s 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.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action TankWomen's safety, Social Welfare, financial vulnerability, family violence, Children, Child Support
Data collection, femicides and policy change: Lessons from Mexico
Data collection, femicides and policy change: Lessons from Mexico

One woman a week is murdered in Australia, but there has been little to no progress on reducing this grim statistic. In the wake of the Women’s Safety Summit, it is clear a multi-pronged approach is needed. In today’s analysis, Brenda Gonzales of the Data Feminism Network (@DataFemNetwork) provides an example of how a private citizen in Mexico initiated policy change to make women safer through contextualised data collection of feminicides.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankgendered violence, policy problem, Population health, data and evidence for advocacy, data
Do you know what you don’t know? Aboriginal people on the problem of ignorance
Do you know what you don’t know? Aboriginal people on the problem of ignorance

‘Closing the gap’ is a major, and highly visible, government policy goal, with the intention of reducing disparities between Australia’s First Nations peoples and White communities. Despite many years, however, there has been little demonstrable progress. Today’s analysis utilises critical race theory, with important lessons for intersectional feminism. Penny Skye Taylor (@PennySkyeTaylor) and Daphne Habibis (@dhabibis), both of the University of Tasmania (@UTAS_), identify white ignorance as an overlooked key factor. This analysis is drawn from their research into Aboriginal views of White Australians and the dominant culture.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action TankAboriginal issues, Indigenous issues, Indigenous research and policy, social inequalities, racism
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
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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Policy and governancePower to Persuadedomestic violence, family violence, public policy, gendered violence
It’s a patient’s right to be involved in decisions about their healthcare – so why aren’t we doing it enough?
It’s a patient’s right to be involved in decisions about their healthcare – so why aren’t we doing it enough?

We expect to be included in decisions about our care, yet one in three patients report not being included as much as they would like. Health services are working to include patients in decisions through Shared Decision Making (SDM) but lack robust research evidence to support implementation in hospitals. In today’s analysis Alexandra Waddell (@WADDELLAL) of Monash University (@BehaviourWorksAustralia) shares a summary of her recently-published paper, co-authored with Alyse Lennox (@alyselennox), Gerri Spassova, and Peter Bragge (@BraggePeter). It is the first publication to explore insights into barriers and facilitators to SDM faced by patients and clinicians, specifically in hospital environments. It also goes beyond past research to include other crucial stakeholders such as health service decision-makers and administrators, and government policymakers.

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Policy and governancePower to Persuadepublic health, health, behaviour change, public policy
Fixing Parliament for women: Five dimensions that help explain why it’s an entrenched masculine workplace
Fixing Parliament for women: Five dimensions that help explain why it’s an entrenched masculine workplace

Earlier this year, Australians were shocked to hear Brittany Higgins’ story – not only of her alleged sexual assault in Parliament House, but also the lack of a process to report and address her allegations. More recently, Annabel Crabb’s series Ms Represented showcased the historic and continuing barriers to inclusion and respect that women face in Australian politics. In today’s analysis, Josefina Erikson (@Josefinaerikson) of Uppsala University (@UU_PoliSci), shares a summary of her recently-published paper, co-authored with Cecilia Josefsson (@CeciliaJsfssn). It provides a framework encompassing five dimensions, explaining how parliaments fail to operate as gender-sensitive workplaces despite increasing numbers of women working there.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankpolitics and democracy, representation, Gender equality, Women's safety
Unpacking Australia's gender pay gap
Unpacking Australia's gender pay gap

Last week we learned that the gender pay gap widened in the first half of the year, with men earning on average $260 per week more than women. In today’s analysis, economist Leonora Risse (@LeonoraRisse) of RMIT, the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard (@wapppHKS), and the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia (@WLIAus), parses the numbers to provide a more nuanced understanding of where the pain points are most acute, and provides policy remedies for this seemingly intractable issue.

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Womens Policy Action TankWomen's Policy Action Tankgender pay gap, Gender Inequity, employment, COVID-19
Australians back the case for guaranteed basic income
Australians back the case for guaranteed basic income

According to a recent Anglicare Australia report, more than three quarters of Australians surveyed using a representative national sample method supported the creation of a permanent basic income. Last year’s JobSeeker/JobKeeper experience showed us the potential of this approach. This article from Nikki Stefanoff (@nikki_stefanoff) was originally posted on Pro Bono Australia.

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Finance and economicsPower to PersuadeSocial Welfare, financial wellbeing