Developing recommendations for violence prevention programs for justice-involved young women
It is estimated that between 70 and 90 per cent of justice-involved young women have a history of violence victimisation, including family and intimate partner violence. These experiences have immediate and long-lasting health and social impacts including homelessness and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Despite this, there are few violence prevention programs in Australia designed for young women involved in the criminal justice system that recognise the ways violence victimisation shapes young women’s interactions with the criminal justice system.
Co-developed with, and incorporating the expertise of people with lived victim-survivor and criminal justice experience, this project will synthesise the literature and develop recommendations for violence prevention programs for justice-involved young women.
Every stage of this project, from design to dissemination of outputs, engages people with lived experience and relevant organisations. Participants will include victim-survivors who have been exposed to the criminal justice system, youth advocates and front-line violence prevention and youth support staff.
This process will culminate in the creation of empirically-grounded recommendations for appropriate, viable and actionable criminal justice system-specific violence prevention programs.
University-based researchers
Associate Professor Rohan Borschman, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Melissa Willoughby, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Claire Keen, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Sciences
Professor Stuart Kinner, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Associate Professor Diana Johns, School of Social and Political Sciences
Dr Piers Gooding, Melbourne Law School
Dr David Gallant, Department of Social Work
External collaborators
Jacqui Sundbery, The Youth Support and Advocacy Service
Bianca Johnston, The Youth Support and Advocacy Service
Tamlynn Collins, The Youth Support and Advocacy Service
Andrew Bruun, The Youth Support and Advocacy Service
Journal Articles
Willoughby, M., Janca, E., Kwon, S., Johnston, B., Collins, T., Kinner, S. A., Johns, D., Gallant, D., Glover-Wright, C., & Borschmann, R. (2023). Interventions to Prevent and Respond to Violence Against Justice-Involved Young Women: A Scoping Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231171183
For information about this project, please contact:
Associate Professor Rohan Borschmann
Centre for Health Equity
Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
Email: rohan.borschmann@unimelb.edu.au