The Diversity of Australia - RESEARCH PROJECT

Project co-ordinator: Liz Ronsisvalle

The issues that new arrivals experience on settlement in Australia seem to be as complex and frustrating as they were in the middle of the last century. However, different cultures and times mean new and challenging issues. Visa status definitions, cultural induction processes, trauma and torture histories, language difficulties, cultural differences, gender issues, financial pressures, education problems, isolation from the traditional family group and job concerns are key challenges. Usually it is a combination of these plus individual factors. Additionally, the limited resources of service providers and restrictions of government agencies including in the provision of settlement services place an enormous burden on everyone involved. Refugee and immigrant groups from Africa, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and China mean understanding new cultures. In turn, experiences prior to arrival in Australia which may have involved discrimination, war, disrupted family life impact on settlement; in addition women and men and children all handle stress differently, which can potentially change the dynamics of families and impacting on the adjustment experience. All in all, the adjustment process for new arrivals can be painful and lengthy.

Changes in the Australian economy have been significant in the last 30 years with manufacturing and unskilled work having declined. Consequently, new arrivals have to meet the requirements of a very different labor market and so need to be differently skilled to the migrants of the 1950’s. There are fewer jobs today that do not require proficiency in the English language.

The aim of the project is to undertake some exploratory research into the current issues surrounding the adjustment experience of settlement for women, men and their families with a view to determining possible responses bythe VWT in the immediate and longer term.

Women In Politics research results

Gain insight into how confident women feel about Australia's party political system to represent women's needs and interests...

The Victorian Women's Trust believes that the question of effective political representation is critical to improving conditions for women in society; and is therefore undertaking a research project to explore whether there are particular expectations of women who are elected representatives (parliamentary and local government) in meeting women's needs and interests. As part of this project we have conducted two questionnaire surveys. Thefirst with current female elected representatives, and the second with women in the broader community.

The full Discussion Paper is now available for downloading:

Download the Discussion paper in Adobe PDF format here (300kb)


Grants Review Project

Fiona Link-Freeman, one of our student placements from Latrobe University, has completed a comprehensive project to retrospectively review grants funded by the Victorian Women's Trust, around domestic violence and sexual violence to ascertain whether these projects made a difference for women in Victoria.

View the Discussion paper in Adobe PDF format here (212kb)



Sexual Assault and Footballers in the Media Report

Cassidy Prent, one of our student placements from Melbourne University, has prepared a paper analysing articles of allegations of sexual assault against footballers. The analysis is of articles appearing in The Age, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun, and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers from the 22nd February 2004 until the end of October 2004.

View the Discussion paper in Adobe PDFformat here (240kb)

The Impacts of Detention on Family relationships

The issue of mandatory detention remains controversial evenafter more than a decade since it was introduced under the Migration Reform Act 1992. Although there have been various studies into the psychological impacts of detention on asylum seekers, as well as the impacts detention has on children, there has been relatively little research looking into the impacts of detention on families. Kate Szewczyk, one of our student placements from RMIT, has prepared a paper looking into the impacts that prolonged detention of asylum seekers has on the structure, roles and functioning of families.

View the Discussion paper in Adobe PDF Format (192kb)