ABOUT
I was awarded the 2020 Peter Mitchell Churchill Fellowship to explore ways activists and universities can work together to prevent sexual violence on campus. I am travelling to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in September to December 2022 to undertake this research opportunity to inform reforms in the Australian context.
I am a passionate activist in the space of sexual violence prevention and response. Most notably, I am the Founder, Director and Safeguarding Manager of The STOP Campaign, a not-for-profit addressing sexual violence in tertiary learning communities through empowerment, education, activism and awareness. I am an experienced leader, having led diverse teams of more than 60 people at a time, and have coordinated various initiatives and programs focused on advocacy, sexual violence prevention and response, safety and wellbeing, and diversity and inclusion. In 2022, I was lucky enough to be a finalist for the ACT Woman of the Year and was inducted onto the ACT Women's Honour Roll.
I have experience in developing policy, writing blogs and opinion pieces, speaking with media, facilitating workshops, and engaging in public speaking events to over 200 people at a time. I have curated and delivered training and development programs to members who join The STOP Campaign, as I have a strong focus on mentoring others and creating safe environments where members feel empowered to learn new skills.
My day job is as a Senior Policy Officer for the Federal Government in Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault. In 2021, I commenced my Master of Social Work, hoping to explore my passions of working in a person-centred role in the sexual violence advocacy and crisis response sector. I also hold a Bachelor of Arts (Human Rights) and a Bachelor of Development Studies from the Australian National University.
2020 Peter Mitchell Churchill Fellowship to explore ways activists and universities can work together to prevent sexual violence on campus.
My project aims to identify new, practical ways for universities and activists to work together to prevent sexual violence and make Australian universities safer for all. I am exploring the role of activists and the prevention methods they develop in comparison to formal institutional responses to sexual violence.
I will investigate how relationships between activists and institutions can be effectively built and mobilised to create change in the sexual violence space by observing and learning from:
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Relevant university task forces, committees and units
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Student activists and victim-survivors who effectively campaigned for change in their university communities
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Community organisations with direct experience in sexual violence prevention and response
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Academics and experts who teach courses on the issue of sexual violence prevention and response and/or engage in their own activism
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Existing campaigns, events and program sessions.
I hope to find:
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New mechanisms of preventing sexual violence on campus through collaboration between university institutions, community organisations and activists
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Models where these collaborative relationships have been productive and influenced positive change on campus.
The project will benefit the Australian community by:
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Providing best practice examples of positive collaboration between activists and institutions
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Leveraging grassroots advocacy and activism, including my own experience, to inspire institutions to listen to students and enact substantial policy reform in their efforts to prevent sexual violence
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Preventing sexual violence from occurring and keep everyone safe on university campuses.