ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6147-8273
Current Organisation
Monash University
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Gender Specific Studies | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sociology | Criminology | Access to justice | Criminology | Criminological Theories | Technology crime and surveillance | International relations | Gender and crime | Gender policy and administration | Political science
Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society | Expanding Knowledge in Law and Legal Studies | Law Reform |
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.2139/SSRN.2976482
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-05-2016
DOI: 10.1093/BJC/AZV039
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.2139/SSRN.2610058
Publisher: Monash University
Date: 2010
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Date: 2015
Publisher: Onati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
Date: 10-2021
DOI: 10.35295/OSLS.IISL/0000-0000-0000-1212
Abstract: This paper explores the symbolic and instrumental impacts associated with labelling particular groups of young people as perpetrators of organised “gang” activity. Using case studies from two Australian cities, we point primarily to the constitutive and damaging nature of much media and public discourse about youth gang crime and show how young offenders’ disadvantage and disenfranchisement is rendered largely invisible or immaterial to understanding the causes and solutions to such problems. In an era of “fake news”, social media “echo chambers”, civil conflict, mass international migration/forced diasporas, as well as the reassertion of strong sovereign borders, we ask: how might one de-escalate the “monstering” of young people whose identity (and presence and place in society) is known primarily, if not exclusively, through the “noise” and visibility of their offending?
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2018
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-06-2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-09-2023
DOI: 10.1093/BJC/AZAD044
Publisher: Onati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
Date: 10-2021
DOI: 10.35295/OSLS.IISL/0000-0000-0000-1211
Abstract: Despite media suggestions that youth violence is the result of an epidemic of young thugs “out of control”, this paper argues that youth violence is emblematic of complex political, economic and socio-cultural conditions. This introductory paper discusses some of the key themes and articles from our special issue on Youth violence: De-escalation strategies and socio-legal responses, which is the result of a workshop held at the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law in July 2019. It seeks to reflect the rich tapestry of factors, contexts and processes that can place young people at risk of offending, or, perhaps even more importantly, at risk of criminalisation, as presented in the special issue collection. We reflect on the range of perspectives presented across the special issue on youth violence and the de-escalation of such violence, which seek to advance knowledge, and identify strategies for regulating and preventing this behaviour.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Date: 2015
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 19-08-2020
Abstract: Beyond ‘scandals’ and the public testimonies of victim-survivors, surprisingly little is known about the nature and extent of the harms of ‘image-based sexual abuse’, a term that includes all non-consensual taking and/or sharing of nude or sexual images. Accordingly, this article examines the findings from the first cross-national qualitative study on this issue, drawing on interviews with 75 victim-survivors of image-based sexual abuse in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We adopt a feminist phenomenological approach that permits more nuanced and holistic understandings of victim-survivors’ experiences, moving beyond medicalised, trauma-based accounts of harm. Our analysis develops five interconnected accounts of the harms experienced, that we have termed social rupture, constancy, existential threat, isolation and constrained liberty. Our findings shed new light on the nature and significance of the harms of image-based sexual abuse that emphasises the need for more comprehensive and effective responses to these abuses.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-09-2022
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 13-08-2019
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 24-07-2023
DOI: 10.1177/10778012231185541
Abstract: Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been promoted internationally to enhance responses to domestic and family violence (DFV). However, little is known about their utility, benefits, and limitations. Drawing upon the insights of DFV practitioners who support victim/survivors in the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia, this article finds that while BWCs can capture some DFV incidents, they are unable to show their full context and impacts. BWC footage may also have consequences for “nonideal” victim/survivors, including wrongful criminalization and the removal of children. Ultimately, we argue that trauma-informed responses are vital for BWC use in DFV cases to improve frontline responses.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-09-2018
Publisher: Deakin University
Date: 12-2011
DOI: 10.21153/DLR2011VOL16NO2ART107
Abstract: The polarisation between consistency, controls and the unscrutinised discretionary powers held by criminal justice agencies is a complex issue that transcends jurisdictions. In the Australian State of Victoria, this conflict is particularly evident in the prosecutor’s decision-making powers in the plea bargaining process, because these powers are not subject to scrutiny and the decisions made under them are not transparent. Furthermore, plea bargaining itself is a non-formalised and unscrutinised method of case resolution. While the use of discretion is an important component of prosecutorial work, it is the potentially in idualised and idiosyncratic nature of unscrutinised discretionary decisions that results in plea bargaining and prosecutorial decision-making in Victoria giving rise to perceptions of inappropriateness and misconduct. Drawing upon the voices of Victorian and United Kingdom legal professionals, this article critically analyses the controls placed on United Kingdom prosecutors by the Attorney General’s Guidelines on the Acceptance of Pleas and the Prosecutor’s Role in the Sentencing Exercise 2009 (UK), and considers whether similar guidelines could be implemented in Victoria to redress problems surrounding the idiosyncratic nature of prosecutorial decision-making in plea bargaining. By offering a unique insight into the perspectives of those involved in plea bargaining, this article explores the benefits of implementing a transparent and scrutinised control on prosecutorial discretion in plea bargaining, and considers whether this would in turn offer greater safeguards, consistency and transparency of prosecutorial decision-making in Victoria.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Date: 2015
Publisher: Queensland University of Technology
Date: 03-2016
Abstract: This issue of the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy stems from selected papers delivered at the 2013 and 2014 Critical Criminology conferences convened in, respectively, Adelaide (Flinders University) and Melbourne (Monash University). This was the final occasion when the Critical Criminology event would be held in successive years. In future, this conference will alternate with the Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Conference (hosted biennially by the Queensland University of Technology). As guest editors and the conferences’ facilitators, we examined the abstracts across both events and listened to as many speakers as possible with the view to inviting submissions from a mix of Australian and international delegates, including a selection of postgraduate and early career researchers.The papers published in this issue provide solid evidence of not only the liveliness of critical criminological thought, but also its relevance to the twenty-first century problems besetting various governments and communities around the world.To find out more about this special edition, download the PDF file from this page.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-2009
Abstract: In September 2007, the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council released a report (2007c) recommending the introduction of sentence indications for indictable offences in Victoria's intermediate court. In response, on July 1, 2008, a legislated sentence indication process was implemented into Victoria's intermediate and Supreme Courts in s 23A of the Crimes (Criminal Trials) Act 1999 (Vic). This process is now governed by s 208-s 209 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic). Drawing upon national and international commentary and experiences with sentence indications, this article examines the potential benefits and disadvantages of the Victorian legislation, including its limited capacity to attract early guilty pleas and its potentially negative impact on victims and defendants. This article contends that the desire for court efficiency has led to the implementation of reforms across criminal justice systems that, while seeking to apply the benefits of reduced delays and early guilty pleas, ultimately prioritise efficiency gains above the interests of the public, victims and defendants. The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council's proposal (2007c) and the subsequent provisions introducing an indictable indication scheme in s 208-s 209 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), are used to inform this argument.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-06-2018
DOI: 10.1093/BJC/AZX036
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 29-11-2023
DOI: 10.1177/26338076221135327
Abstract: Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a growing, global problem. This article reports on a mixed-methods, multi-jurisdictional study of IBSA across the United Kingdom, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Attitudes of blame and minimisation of harms among a s le of the general population ( n = 6109) were analysed using two multiple regression analyses that assessed the ability of three demographic and three experiential characteristics to predict attitudes. Interviews were also conducted with 43 stakeholders and analysed thematically. Survey respondents who attributed more blame and minimised harms to a greater extent tended to be men, heterosexual, and had experienced or perpetrated more IBSA behaviours. Those who reported greater engagement in sexual self-image behaviours were also more likely to minimise harms. Interview participants suggested attitudes of blame and minimisation may be linked to broader problematic attitudes around sexual violence and sexual double standards, with women more likely to experience blame for IBSA. Our findings are of international relevance and highlight the need for multifaceted policies, education c aigns and training that challenge these attitudes.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.JFLM.2017.02.005
Abstract: A systematic review was undertaken to determine the current global prevalence of drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) reported in adults in order to identify trends in the toxicology findings in DFSA around the world over the past 20 years. Databases PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus were systematically searched using the terms: "drug-facilitated sexual assault", "chemical submission", "date rape", "rape drugs" and "drink-spiking" to identify relevant studies for inclusion in the review. This study focused on adult victims of suspected DFSA aged 16 years and above in which toxicology results were reported. The majority of studies included were published in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, with only a single study dedicated to this area in both Australia and Europe. Epidemiology, prevalence rates, and toxicology for DFSA appear broadly commensurate across different continents, although there are some differences in how "drug-facilitated sexual assault" is defined, as well as differences in the sensitivity of toxicological analyses. Nonetheless, alcohol is the most commonly detected substance and co-occurrence with other drugs is common. Aside from alcohol there was no other specific drug category associated with DFSA. Cannabinoids and benzodiazepines were frequently detected, but a lack of contextual information made it difficult to establish the extent that these substances contributed to suspected cases of DFSA. This comprehensive review suggests that alcohol intoxication combined with voluntary drug consumption presents the greatest risk factor for DFSA, despite populist perceptions that covert drink-spiking is a common occurrence. There is a need to develop policies that encourage early responders to suspected DFSA (e.g., law enforcement agencies, medical staff, support agencies, etc), to collect detailed information about the in idual's licit and illicit drug consumption history, in order to assist in providing appropriate and more thorough contextual information.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Date: 2015
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Date: 2015
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 13-10-2019
Abstract: Defendants in rape trials rely on narratives of “implied consent,” situating women’s ordinary behavior as having indicated consent. Such narratives ignore women’s experiences, instead describing a male perpetrator’s subjective interpretation or inference of the woman’s actions. Implied consent narratives should have been eliminated by law reform introducing affirmative consent that redirected attention to steps that the perpetrator took to ensure the other party was consenting. Drawing from an Australian study, this article uses rape trial excerpts from the state of Victoria to argue that implied consent narratives endure in rape trials and form the key factor shaping a reasonable belief defense. Rape law allows men to interpret women’s behavior without restriction, providing evidence of the persisting influence of misogynistic views of women in law and legal practice. This article contributes to feminist jurisprudential and theoretical efforts to generate understandings of the ways rigid gender norms are enacted and performed in rape trials.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-12-2021
DOI: 10.1093/BJC/AZAB111
Abstract: Deepfake and digitally altered nude and sexual imagery is a serious and harmful emerging form of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). This article reports on a multi-methods and cross-country study of IBSA across the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia, with a specific focus on the creation, distribution and threat to distribute deepfake and digitally altered imagery. Our findings suggest this abuse involves poly-victimization and poly-perpetration, and is disproportionately experienced and engaged in by those with mobility and/or communication assistance needs, members of the LGB+ community, males, young people and racial minorities (perpetration only). In this article, we discuss the pervasiveness and harms of deepfake and digitally altered imagery abuse, as well as challenges in legal responses, policing and prevention.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-01-2023
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 21-02-2022
DOI: 10.1177/08862605211072266
Abstract: Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a form of technology-facilitated abuse in which intimate (nude or sexual) images of a person are taken, distributed, or threats are made to distribute the images, without a person’s consent. It is an increasingly criminalized form of sexual abuse, and yet little is known about the perpetrators of these harms, including the extent, relational nature and correlates of perpetration. This article reports on the first multi-country survey study to comprehensively investigate IBSA perpetration. An online panel survey of the general community (aged 16–64 years) in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) ( n = 6109) found that self-reported IBSA perpetration was relatively common, with one in six (17.5%, n = 1070) respondents engaging in at least one form of IBSA. Logistic regression analyses identified nine characteristics that significantly increased the odds of having engaged in IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, namely: residing in the NZ as opposed to the UK or Australia, being male, having disability/assistance needs, holding attitudes that minimize the harms and excuse the perpetrators of IBSA, engaging in online dating behaviors, engaging in sexual self-image behaviors, and experiencing IBSA victimization (images taken, images distributed, and images threatened). Policy and prevention implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 27-07-2016
Abstract: Unlike the cynicism and accountability concerns applied to the use of discretion by police and judicial officers, prosecutorial discretion in plea-negotiations operates essentially free from external scrutiny or transparency. Globally, there is a scarcity of data and research on plea-negotiations, meaning we do not have the capacity to accurately measure their frequency, the contexts in which agreements are reached or to identify patterns in the types of offenders/offences most commonly involved. Additionally, in almost all Australian jurisdictions, plea-negotiations are not recognised as a legitimate legal process in statute, despite empirical evidence from the legal community suggesting their overtly encouraged and common use. Drawing from research in which 51 Victorian prosecutors were observed engaging in plea-negotiation practices over several months, and 54 interviews were conducted with prosecutors, defence counsel, judicial officers and policy advisors, this article intends to reignite discussions of the nontransparency of plea-negotiations in Australia, including highlighting the need for increased criminological research in this underexamined field. The article contends that all Australian jurisdictions should define plea-negotiations in legislation and record data on how often plea-negotiations occur, similarly to the current process of recording guilty pleas. Without such reform, plea-negotiations will remain nontransparent and misunderstood, as there will be no adequate mechanism to understand or examine how negotiations operate in practice or what their true impacts might be.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 30-07-2019
Abstract: This article investigates the nature and scope of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) material on 77 high-volume online websites. On the majority of these sites, users appeared to be motivated by sexual gratification and proving masculinity to a sexually deviant peer network, rather than revenge against the person depicted in the image. We argue that nonconsensual image exchanges are contextualized within ever-expanding digital environments, characterized by dislocation of time and space, overvisualization, and hypersexuality. We argue that IBSA is a vehicle for the construction, performativity, and negotiation of hypermasculinity and heteronormativity, within the bounds and structures of existing gendered power relations.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-07-2019
DOI: 10.1007/S12024-019-00124-3
Abstract: In order to better understand risk factors associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), this study examined complainant-specific and contextual factors, as well as the toxicological profile of DFSA in Victoria, Australia. Clinical files and toxicological analysis results collected by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) for all cases of alleged DFSA in Victoria that occurred between 1st January 2011 - 31st December 2013 were reviewed. Two hundred and four cases of alleged DFSA were identified complainants were predominately female (93%), and their median age was 26 years (range = 18-54). Self-reported premorbid depression (21.1%) and drug and alcohol abuse (9.8%) were four and two times higher than 12-month prevalence rates in Australia, respectively. All assailants were male, half were known to the complainant and half of alleged assaults occurred in private residences. Most (93.6%) complainants reported voluntary consumption of psychoactive substances prior to the alleged DFSA. Alcohol was the most commonly self-reported substance consumed (n = 164 64%) and concomitant use of alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs was also commonly self-reported (24%). There were 14 cases that produced a positive toxicology result where the complainant did not report voluntary consumption, which suggests these drugs may have been used covertly to facilitate sexual assault. The results of this study indicate that Females in their mid-20's who exhibit higher rates of mental health concerns represent a sub-group of the Australian population with increased vulnerability to DFSA, which typically occurs in a familiar setting in the context of voluntary alcohol and other substance use.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 13-03-2022
DOI: 10.1177/08862605211001465
Abstract: Digital technologies are increasingly being used as tools for the perpetration of domestic violence. Little empirical research to date has explored the nature and impacts of technology-facilitated domestic violence (TFDV), and even less attention has been paid to the experiences of immigrant and refugee women. This article examines the nature and impacts of TFDV as experienced by immigrant and refugee women. Drawing on interviews with 29 victim-survivors and 20 stakeholders, we argue that although immigrant and refugee women may experience TFDV in similar ways to non-immigrant and refugee women, they face unique challenges, such as language barriers, cultural bias from support services, lack of financial resources, lack of trust in state institutions, and additional challenges with justice and migration systems. Immigrant and refugee women also face multiple structural layers of oppression and social inequality. Accordingly, we argue that a multifaceted approach is required to address TFDV that includes culturally sensitive and specific law reform, education, and training.
Publisher: Unpublished
Date: 2017
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2010
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Date: 14-06-2023
DOI: 10.1332/239868021X16842395248135
Abstract: Governments worldwide are increasingly engaging service users to reform public policies and services and enhance public value. Survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) are one group seeking to be heard by governments and gradually being engaged to improve policy outcomes. However, the history of the victims’ rights movement and feminist scholarship on political institutions indicate significant risks for survivors in these engagements with the state. This article examines the nature of these risks and how they are experienced and challenged, through a case study analysis of the implementation of the Australian state of Victoria’s Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council. Analysing government reports and interviews with survivors and policymakers, the article investigates how the state asserts control over survivors under the guise of co-production, inadvertently compromising public value creation. Informed by a feminist institutionalist lens, our analysis finds that efforts to address the power imbalances and gendered norms reflected in the informal rules of co-production are likely to better realise public value in terms of improved outcomes for all members of society, especially those experiencing GBV. The co-production risks we highlight and the ways to mitigate them we suggest are also relevant to other areas of co-production with other marginalised service users.
Start Date: 2014
End Date: 2016
Funder: Criminology Research Advisory Council, Australian Institute of Criminology
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2017
End Date: 2019
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2015
End Date: 2017
Funder: Criminology Research Advisory Council, Australian Institute of Criminology
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 09-2023
End Date: 09-2026
Amount: $272,025.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2024
End Date: 12-2030
Amount: $34,999,992.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 09-2017
End Date: 12-2021
Amount: $337,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity