The Evaluation Guide: A Guide for Evaluating Behaviour Change Programs for Men Who Use Domestic and Family Violence

The purpose of this Evaluation guide is to provide easy-to-understand information on scoping an evaluation for men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) focusing on men who use domestic and family violence (DFV). This Evaluation guide aims to improve the technical knowledge for personnel involved in the implementation of MBCPs who might be involved in commissioning an external evaluation or conducting an in-house evaluation. Upon working through this Evaluation guide, readers should: understand the purposes of conducting quality evaluations of MBCPs; be able to develop a program logic and articulate appropriate evaluation questions; be aware of a range of methodologies available to answer the evaluation questions; gain an awareness of the important considerations in designing an evaluation of MBCPs; be aware of the ethical issues that need to be considered when commissioning or conducting an evaluation of an MBCP

Complicating trauma connections : lesbian and queer survivor experiences

Drawing on interviews from lesbian and queer female survivors, this article aims to problematise the trauma(tic) connection frequently made between child sexual abuse and sexuality in psychological and popular discourse. It also considers the ways that lesbian and queer survivor narratives might complicate mainstream assumptions about child sexual abuse and adult sexual pathology. As I argue, not only does psychological and popular discourse suggest that an abuse history can explain the outcome of lesbian sexuality; it rarely positions this outcome as positive. Rather, lesbian sexuality is often presented in the literature as a failed attempt by survivors to achieve 'normal' (hetero)sexuality, or is translated in terms of their 'impossibility to heal'. Yet, it was perhaps their unique positionality that allowed the lesbian and queer survivors in this study more opportunity to resist cultural discourses and to transcend usual modes of healing. Furthermore, by challenging simple connections between healthy (hetero)sex and recovery, lesbian and queer survivors were able to engage more fully in their own sexual subjectivities

Young women's management of victim and survivor identities

Images of child sexual abuse survivors have been strongly mediated by professional and self-help ideologies that espouse ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ responses to trauma. Drawing on interviews taken with five self-identified survivors of child sexual abuse, this paper maps the impact of psychological and popular discourses on victim/survivor identities and, in particular, the centrality of themes such as disclosure and ‘healing’ in accounts from survivors. Investment in these particular versions of recovery has operated to shift the focus of the survivor movement away from its political beginnings, such that private healing has replaced public discontent. As the excerpts from survivors in this paper suggest, the language commonly captured in both therapeutic and popular accounts of trauma may guide and delimit the subject positions available to survivors. Utilising the concept of ‘wounded attachment’, this paper identifies some of the outcomes associated with internalised notions of healing for survivors, as well as the dilemmas that might be impeding disclosure

Putting ethical sex into practice : sexual negiotation, gender and citizenship in the lives of young women and men

When young people begin to explore their sexuality they are often subject to particularly strong surveillance from adults and the institutions of the state. How young people become ethical sexual citizens is not well understood. In recent years an increased focus on comprehensive sexuality programmes that include violence prevention have led to the development of a number of education programmes targeting young people. This article will draw on quantitative and qualitative responses of a three-phase (pre-group, post-group, follow-up) impact evaluation from 153 young women and men from Australia and New Zealand who participated in the Sex and Ethics Violence Prevention Program from 2009 to 2011. The Program encourages young people to explore alternative approaches to gender and sexuality and learn skills in ethical negotiation which they can utilise in ‘real life’ situations. This includes developing a reflexive ethical stance to consider how sexual choices impact on themselves and others. The primary aim of the Program is to reduce pressured, coerced sex and sexual assault in intimate relationships. Despite gender differences women and men were able to move toward behavioural change, explore alternative approaches to gender relations and increase their skills in sexual negotiation as ethical sexual citizens

The development and validation of intercultural understanding (ICU) instruments for teachers and students in primary and secondary schools

Intercultural understanding (ICU) is becoming an essential part of living and contributing effectively in our increasingly diverse society. In fact, ICU is a key capability in the Australian schooling curriculum, alongside other general capabilities such as numeracy and literacy. While there are current instruments assessing ICU, there is little evidence-based research surrounding their use in primary and secondary school settings. In the context of a larger project, this study outlines the development and validation of a new ICU instrument specifically for use in primary and secondary schools. Among a sample of teachers and students from 12 Australian primary and secondary schools, the study found a teacher ICU instrument with a four-factor structure and a student ICU instrument with a two-factor structure. Further research and implications are discussed

Growing Up Queer: Issues Facing Young Australians Who Are Gender Variant and Sexuality Diverse

This pilot project, conducted with young people who identify as gender and sexuality diverse, was undertaken during 2012-2013. It was a collaborative project involving academics from the University of Western Sydney – Professor Kerry Robinson, Dr Peter Bansel, Dr Nida Denson, and Dr Georgia Ovenden; two external consultants with expertise in filmmaking, script writing and performance – Cristyn Davies and Elena Knox; and Twenty10 – a Young and Well CRC supporting partner, located in Sydney, New South Wales. Twenty10 is an organisation focusing on those needing support around identity issues associated with gender and sexuality diversity. This pilot research aimed: (i) to gain an understanding of the experiences of young people who identify as gender variant and sexuality diverse across a broad range of issues such as identity, health and wellbeing, education, technology, and access to services; (ii) to work creatively and collaboratively with a group of these young people to begin to develop innovative, relevant and engaging resources based on research findings that would contribute to increasing professional and community awareness of their experiences and needs; and (iii) in the development of these resources, to provide this group of young people with a valuable and socially engaged experience of documentary-style video production using hand-held technologies – in this case, iPods