Amanda Parkinson

Thesis: Older adults who have experienced sexual assault: Improving early identification and therapeutic responses

Biography

Amanda is  a qualified social worker with 15 years of experience in child protection, and child and adolescent mental health. She is an accredited mental health social worker and has MA’s in the following areas: Child Care Law and Practice, Social Work, Clinical Family Therapy and Child Play Therapy.
She currently works full time as the Manager of SECASA (South East Centre Against Sexual Assault) in Victoria where she is responsible for the running of the Adult Program and Intake and Brief Treatment Team.
Prior to her social work career she worked in the NHS as a Nurse, Midwife and Health Visitor having a BSc in Public Health Nursing -Specialist Practitioner

Thesis summary

Amanda’s PhD is practice focused and considers the barriers to identification and disclosure of sexual violence among older women. She is conducting semi structured interviews with professionals who have expertise and practice wisdom in this area.

The study will consider barriers to disclosure, and how we can improve early identification of sexual assault and access to appropriate treatment for this client group. This research explores advocate and practitioner experiences and responses to older adults who have experiences sexual assault. It hopes to better understand and develop an evidence-based approach to enhancing identification and response to sexual assault with this specific client group.

Supervisors: Associate Professor Bridget Harris, Dr Jasmine McGowan.