As part of the global, United Nations-led 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Monash University's “What Happens Next?” podcast – hosted by Dr Susan Carland – delivers a powerful two-part season finale that reveals the systemic drivers of gender-based violence (GBV) and proposes critical solutions.
Featuring world-leading researchers and other experts, the podcast series coincides with a number of events and activities in this space that underscore the University’s leadership in addressing this national crisis, including the upcoming launch of the Monash-based Australian Research Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW).
Systemic inequality and targeted violence
Monash alumna Fiona McCormack AM, former Victims of Crime Commissioner for Victoria, provides a stark assessment: “Gender-based violence is not just a consequence of gender inequality, but significantly contributes to the overall status of women in our community.”
She highlights the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, particularly Indigenous women, who are 45 times more likely to be targeted as victims of GBV.
The unexpected connection between gambling and violence
Associate Professor Charles Livingstone, from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, reveals a critical link between addiction and gender-based violence. Australia has the worst relationship with gambling in the world, he says, and a gambling addiction can put tremendous pressure on families, which often expresses itself as GBV. Regulating gambling addiction may not eliminate the violence crisis, but it would be a major step in the right direction.
“Given the extent to which we now understand the links between violence and gambling addiction, what we would be doing is we would be eliminating a really substantial component of the causes of intimate partner violence,” he says.
The growing digital threat: mapping the “manosphere”
Researchers from Monash's Faculty of Education, Dr Stephanie Wescott and Professor Steven Roberts, expose the dangerous rise of online anti-feminist content and “manfluencers” such as Andrew Tate targeting young men.
Dr Wescott notes a disturbing trend: “There has been a noticeable, discernible shift in boys' attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls in the last couple of years, coinciding with a return from lockdown and remote schooling.”
Their research reveals that a quarter of young men hold problematic attitudes towards women and gender equality.
“The reason it's become so sharp is technological advancement, backlash to MeToo, all happening at the same time and creating this kind of perfect storm, amplified again by COVID” Professor Roberts explains.
A comprehensive approach to prevention
Professor Jane Fisher, a global health expert and one of CEVAW’s chief investigators, says violence is one of the biggest underpinning factors for all health problems experienced by women, in particular their mental health.
“I think it would be wonderful if our efforts could be focused more on preventing these problems than having to assist them once they're established,” she says.
World-leading GBV scholar Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, based in Monash’s Faculty of Business and Economics, emphasises the need for systemic change.
“What we need is a whole program of reform from that full-spectrum prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery,” she says. “Tinkering at any one of those, tinkering with the criminal law, tinkering with bail laws, tinkering with policing, they may be important reforms in and of themselves, but we need to do the whole-of-system response.”
Professor Fitz-Gibbon finds hope in the knowledge that all forms of GBV are preventable, and says we all have a part to play in its elimination: “We need every Australian to feel that they can play a role and that they know what their role is in helping us to address what is a national crisis. We all want more. We all want more for our children than this.”
Monash University is leading global efforts to eliminate GBV through groundbreaking research, expert insights and innovative solutions. During the 16 Days of Activism campaign, we’re highlighting the University’s world-class thought leadership on an interactive website to inspire awareness and action in addressing this national crisis.
About What Happens Next?
Monash University's What Happens Next? podcast explores some of the biggest challenges of the day. Host Dr Susan Carland steps through the sliding doors with global experts and thought leaders to find out what could happen if we don't change, and what the world could look like if we do. The podcast is a thrice-consecutive gold award winner in the international Signal Awards.
What Happens Next? is available on all major podcast platforms, and will return in 2025 with new episodes. Explore the podcast’s back catalogue: lens.monash.edu/@what-happens-next
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