$35 million for Centre of Excellence to help eliminate violence against women

Eliminating violence against women will be at the heart of a new Centre for Excellence to open at Monash University, thanks to a $35 million grant. The Australian Research Council (ARC) has today announced the $34.9 million grant for the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW).

The funding will support seven years of transformative research to understand the problem of violence against women and address the structural drivers that cause and compound it. The centre, led by Professor Jacqui True, will pioneer new, evidence-based approaches to radically improve policy and practice across Australia and the Indo-Pacific.

“Systems and structures are failing women. But we don’t have the knowledge base to inform policymakers and advocates who can drive the systems-change to eliminate violence against women,” Professor True said.

“CEVAW will generate that fundamental, interdisciplinary knowledge on the causes of violence, the contexts in which it occurs, and the most effective and efficient responses.”

The empowerment of Indigenous ethics and leadership of research will be used to investigate how violence is shaped by the dominant beliefs and institutions in communities where colonial, racialised and gender hierarchies apply. Based in the Faculty of Arts at Monash University, the Centre will bring together a wealth of expertise from across the globe: 14 Chief Investigators from eight Australian universities; 17 international partner investigators; and 32 Australian and international partner organisations. Dean of the Faculty of Arts Professor Katie Stevenson said this was an important milestone as the first humanities- and social-sciences-based ARC Centre at Monash University.

“Monash Arts is honoured to host an ARC Centre of Excellence which tackles such a profoundly important issue and which will bring transformational positive impact to the lives of so many,” Professor Stevenson said.

The success of Professor True and her colleagues in securing support for CEVAW demonstrates the fundamental importance of humanities and social science research in understanding how we can live better as a society and to make practical improvement for the benefit of all.”

The ARC Centres of Excellence scheme is one of the ARC’s largest and most distinguished schemes.

To find out more about the Centre, click here.

FULL LIST OF PARTNERS INVOLVED IN THE CENTRE:

14 Chief Investigators from seven Australian universities:

  • Professor Jacqui True, Monash University (Centre Director)
  • Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University
  • Associate Professor Asher Flynn, Monash University
  • Professor Jane Fisher, Monash University
  • Professor Asadul Islam, Monash University
  • Professor Bronwyn Carlson, Macquarie University
  • Professor Heather Douglas, The University of Melbourne
  • Professor Cathy Humphreys, The University of Melbourne
  • Professor Sara Davies, Griffith University
  • Professor Patrick O'Leary, Griffith University
  • Professor Sarah Wendt, Flinders University
  • Professor Bina D'Costa, The Australian National University
  • Professor Kyllie Cripps, UNSW
  • Associate Professor Astghik Mavisakalyan, Curtin University

Thirty-two partner organisations:

  1. ActionAid Australia
  2. ANROWS
  3. Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA)
  4. Australian Association of Women Judges
  5. Black Rainbow
  6. Breaking Silent Codes
  7. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)
  8. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
  9. Department of Social Services (DSS)
  10. Domestic Violence NSW
  11. Domestic Violence VIC/ Safe + Equal
  12. DV Connect
  13. eSafety Commissioner
  14. Kornar Winmil Yunti (KWY) Aboriginal Corporation
  15. Koorie Women Mean Business (KWMB)
  16. Lowitja Institute
  17. National Indigenous Australians Agency (Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet)
  18. No To Violence Australia
  19. Our Watch
  20. Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS)
  21. Respect Victoria
  22. WESNET (The Women's Services Network)
  23. Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS)
  24. Women's Legal Services Australia
  25. Women’s Safety Services SA (WSSSA)
  26. Raoul Wallenberg Institute
  27. SMERU Research Institute, Indonesia
  28. The Asia Foundation (TAF)
  29. META
  30. Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM)
  31. The Gaston Zavalla Ortigas Peace Institute (GZOPI), The Philippines
  32. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)