Journal articles on the topic 'Minority women Australia'

AbstractThe Summers Night Project is an ongoing composer-mentoring programme established in 2018 by musicians Cat Hope and Gabriella Smart, with the support of the Perth-based new music organisation Tura New Music. The project aims to support and mentor emerging Australian female and gender minority composers to create new compositions for performance, with the aim of growing the gender diversity of composers in music programmes across Australia. Three composers were chosen from a national call for submissions, and works were performed by an ensemble consisting of members from the Decibel and Soundstream new music ensembles. Three new works were workshopped, recorded then performed on a short tour of Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia in July 2018. The project takes its name and inspiration from Australian feminist Anne Summers, author of the ground-breaking examination of women in Australia's history Damned Whores and God's Police (1975) and was inspired by her 2017 Women's Manifesto. This article examines the rationale for such a project, the processes and results of the project itself, and plans for its future.

This paper is a summary of a research project to investigate the relationships between women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and sport. A conflict between sport providers’ perceptions of the needs of women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and the views of the women themselves was found. Providers generally perceived the problem of low participation in sport as relating to the women’s culture (a cultural deficit explanation); whereas, the women interviewed mainly associated their low participation rates with non-inclusionary practices engaged in by providers.

This paper explores the centrality of gender in the construction of minority identities. We adopt a comparative perspective to analyze its significance in the contexts of internal and international migration within the Asia-Pacific region, the former being within contiguous parts of West Bengal, India by the Rabi Das and the latter from the mountains of Laos to Tasmania, Australia by Hmong refugees. In both cases, gender relations are fundamental to the process of identity construction. Nevertheless, the histories of minority status and the strategies adopted by men and women as they construct, re-construct and resist identities vary in the two diverse contexts. We focus on exploring the role of women's resistance and pro-active involvement in the restructuring of identity. Through an analysis of the intersection of ethnicity, gender and class in the construction of minority identities we highlight the need to firstly, avoid essentialist ways of defining gender and ethnic identity, and secondly to examine structural constraints and agency among minority women.

This article explores the representation of cross-cultural love in the postwar narratives of Vietnamese women. The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and Vietnam’s reunification under a communist regime led to one of the most visible diasporas of the late twentieth century, in which more than two million Vietnamese left their homeland in order to seek refuge overseas. The main countries of resettlement were the United States, Australia, Canada and France. Vietnamese women in Australia who chose to marry outside their culture constitute a minority not only within the diaspora but also within Australian society and the Vietnamese Australian community. In contrast to the largely negative representations of cross-cultural relationships in novels and memoirs of colonial and wartime Vietnam, these women’s accounts highlight underlying commonalities between themselves and their European partners such as a shared understanding of political asylum or war. The narratives of these women illustrate cross-cultural rencontres that were made possible by the refugee or migration experience, and that signify a distinct shift in the representation of exogamous relationships for Vietnamese women. Oral history provides these women with the opportunity to narrate not only the self but also the interaction between the self and the other, and to frame and structure their experiences of intermarriage in a positive light. Cet article explore la représentation de l’amour interculturel dans les récits de l’après-guerre des femmes vietnamiennes. La fin de la guerre du Vietnam en 1975 et la réunification du Vietnam sous un régime communiste mena à une des diasporas les plus visibles de la fin du vingtième siècle, pendant laquelle plus de deux millions de Vietnamiens quittèrent leur pays pour se réfugier à l’étranger. Les pays principaux de réinstallation furent les Etats-Unis, l’Australie, le Canada et la France. Les femmes vietnamiennes en Australie qui ont choisi de se marier à l’extérieur de leur culture constituent une minorité non seulement dans la diaspora mais aussi en Australie ainsi que la communité vietnamienne en Australie. Contrairement à la représentation largement négative des relations interculturelles dans les romans et les mémoires du Vietnam colonial et en temps de guerre, les récits de ces femmes surlignent les points communs entre elles et leurs compagnons européens telle une compréhension mutuelle de l’asile politique ou de la guerre. Les récits de ces femmes illustrent des rencontres interculturelles rendues possible par l’expérience d’être réfugié ou migrant, et qui signalent un changement net de position dans la représentation des relations exogames concernant les femmes vietnamiennes. L’histoire orale permet à ces femmes de raconter non seulement le moi mais aussi l’interaction entre le moi et l’autre, et de structurer et d’encadrer leurs expériences de mariage interculturel de manière positive.

From June 2010 until June 24th 2013, and at times into 2014 the then Prime Minister of Australia The Honourable Ms Julia Gillard was subjected to the most intense and ruthless political rhetoric ever seen in Australian media. Personal attacks and talk back callers openly admitting they “hated her” and calling into question her mental state and hormonal status was just part of a brutal media campaign aided and abetted by Opposition Leader in Tony Abbott. He linguistically derailed a reforming and intelligent woman who held together a minority parliament which delivered significant legislation. In addition, a selection of media articles and a review of media analysis of the candidacy of Hillary Clinton in preparing a run for the White House in the USA during the years 2015-2016 echoes eerie parallels to a sub textual cultural discourse of misogyny especially in politics. This discourse analysis and media study questions whether the core of the Real Matilda misogyny reported by Miriam Dixson in Australia since 1976 is alive and well and lingers on in our linguistic heritage. The polarisation of political debate and concomitant bias some media quarters is analysed and shown to have a significant pattern beginning with disapproval and ending in directional linguistic commands from media. The end result was that the Politicians listened to the unrelenting chorus of demands to “end leadership speculation “and complete chaos and to go to an election.

Abstract The SIEV X was a tiny fishing vessel traveling from Indonesia to Australia in 2001, carrying around four hundred people seeking asylum after fleeing from the warfare and persecution predominantly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many were women and children trying to enter Australia to join fathers and husbands already granted refugee status but not allowed to bring in family members because of new Australian laws on “Temporary Protection Visas.” Of these, 353 drowned when the boat sank in international waters. The conservative Australian government denied responsibility, using the event in an election campaign to play on fears about illegal entry and border defense in the Islamophobic climate in the aftermath of 9/11. Yet many everyday Australians eventually became involved in a collaborative design process to create a memorial to those asylum seekers. This article discusses the debates around memorials for those lost at sea, and particularly for those who might be portrayed as enemies or “illegal immigrants” whose coming threatens national borders. It identifies the conditions under which the campaign to commemorate those who died on the SIEV X moved from being a minority interest to become a cause so widely supported by Australians across the country that the memorial was eventually erected in the heart of the national capital.

Existing entrepreneurial discourses have been dominated by white middle-class androcentric approach, giving little space to the discussions of racism and sexism experienced by minority women entrepreneurs. This paper aims to fill this gap through an examination of the experiences of Asian immigrant women entrepreneurs in Canada and Australia using an intersectional approach. The key research question addressed in the paper is to what extent, and in what ways, do racism and sexism impact on the entrepreneurial experiences of Asian immigrant women entrepreneurs and what strategies do they use in managing discrimination to protect themselves and their businesses? Four main strategies were derived from our findings, namely, creating a comfortable niche, playing the mainstream card, swallowing the pain, and resisting.

Background: The Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviours was a survey of 27 500 men and women in 29 countries. Here we report the sexual activity, the prevalence of sexual difficulties and related help-seeking behaviour among participants in Australia. Methods: A telephone survey was conducted in Australia in 2001–2002, with interviews based on a standardised questionnaire. A total of 1500 individuals (750 men and 750 women) aged 40 to 80 years completed the survey. The questionnaire covered demographic information, overall health, and sexual behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. Results: Overall, 83% of men and 74% of women had engaged in sexual intercourse during the 12 months preceding the interview, and 38% of all men and 29% of all women engaged in sexual intercourse more than once a week. Early ejaculation (23%), erectile difficulties (21%) and a lack of sexual interest (18%) were the most common male sexual difficulties. The most frequently reported female sexual difficulties were: lack of sexual interest (33%), lubrication difficulties (26%) and an inability to reach orgasm (25%). Older age was a significant predictor of male erectile difficulties and of lubrication difficulties in women. Only a minority of men and women had sought help for their sexual difficulty(ies) from a health professional. Conclusions: Many middle-aged and older adults in Australia report continued sexual interest and sexual activity. Several sexual difficulties are highly prevalent in this population, but those experiencing these difficulties rarely seek medical help. This may be because they do not perceive such difficulties as serious or sufficiently upsetting.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document the wage effects associated with sexual orientation and to examine whether the wage gap has improved following recent institutional changes which favour sexual minorities. Design/methodology/approach Ordinary least squares and quantile regressions are estimated using Australian data for 2010–2012 and 2015–2017, with the analysis disaggregated by sector of employment. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions are used to quantify unexplained wage gaps. Findings Relative to heterosexual men, in 2015–2017 gay men in the public and private sectors had wages which were equivalent to heterosexual men at all points in the wage distribution. In the private sector: highly skilled lesbians experienced a wage penalty of 13 per cent; low-skilled bisexual women faced a penalty of 11 per cent, as did bisexual men at the median (8 per cent penalty). In the public sector low-skilled lesbians and low-skilled bisexual women significant experienced wage premiums. Between 2010–2012 and 2015–2017 the pay position of highly skilled gay men has significantly improved with the convergence driven by favourable wage (rather than composition) effects. Practical implications The results provide important benchmarks against which the treatment of sexual minorities may be monitored. Originality/value The analysis of the sexual minority wage gaps by sector and position on the wage distribution and insight into the effect of institutions on the wages of sexual minorities.

Objective: This study reports the prevalence and correlates of ICD-10 alcohol- and drug-use disorders in the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) and discusses their implications for treatment. Method: The NSMHWB was a nationally representative household survey of 10 641 Australian adults that assessed participants for symptoms of the most prevalent ICD-10 and DSM-IV mental disorders, including alcohol- and drug-use disorders. Results: In the past 12 months 6.5%% of Australian adults met criteria for an ICD-10 alcohol-use disorder and 2.2%% had another ICD-10 drug-use disorder. Men were at higher risk than women of developing alcohol- and drug-use disorders and the prevalence of both disorders decreased with increasing age. There were high rates of comorbidity between alcohol- and other drug-use disorders and mental disorders and low rates of treatment seeking. Conclusions: Alcohol-use disorders are a major mental health and public health issue in Australia. Drug-use disorders are less common than alcohol-use disorders, but still affect a substantial minority of Australian adults. Treatment seeking among persons with alcohol- and other drug-use disorders is low. A range of public health strategies (including improved specialist treatment services) are needed to reduce the prevalence of these disorders.

Amid claims that forced marriage is rife in Australia’s minority communities, 2013 saw the introduction of criminal legislation outlawing forced marriage in Australia. Within public debate, this punitive measure came to overshadow all other modes of addressing the problem; for instance, education programmes, civil legislation and targeted domestic violence support services. This article examines print media coverage of forced marriage over the thirteen-year period leading up to the introduction of criminal legislation. Exploring a discourse that overwhelmingly understands forced marriage as a problem of Islam and multiculturalism, and that marginalises the experiences of women and service providers, the author identifies distinct conservative and liberal representations of forced marriage which racialise domestic violence. Conservatives maintain that forced marriage is empirical evidence of an impending Muslim ‘takeover’ of the West precipitated by multiculturalism. Liberals reassert the importance of western values through specific criminal legislation to temper male minority ethnic violence. The material consequence of these Orientalist framings is a narrowing of services available to women seeking to escape violence. The article seeks to understand the processes of meaning-making in which forced marriage is implicated and how the issue is situated within the domain of national political ideology, as opposed to family violence.

Postpartum weight retention contributes to maternal obesity and varies by ethnicity. Despite the well-established benefits of lifestyle intervention on weight management, little is known about how to engage postpartum women effectively, especially among ethnic minority groups. This multi-methods study aimed to explore ethnic differences in women’s preferences for lifestyle intervention after childbirth. Women within five years of childbirth and living with their youngest child in Australia were recruited in an online survey (n = 504) and semi-structured interviews (n = 17). The survey and interview questions were structured based on the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) framework. Ethnic groups were categorized as Oceanian, Asian and Other according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Chi-square tests were used to compare the preferred intervention characteristics between groups. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. The survey showed that most women across all ethnic groups were interested in receiving lifestyle support in the early postpartum period (from 7 weeks to 3 months postpartum). All ethnic groups preferred a regular lifestyle intervention delivered by health professionals that promotes accountability and provides practical strategies. However, Asian women had a higher desire for infant care and a lower desire for mental health in the intervention content compared with Oceanian women. Moreover, Asian women were more likely to favour interventions that are initiated in a later postpartum period, over a shorter duration, and with less intervention frequency, compared with Oceanian women. The interviews further indicated the need for intervention adaptations in the Asian group to address the cultural relevance of food and postpartum practices. These ethnic-specific preferences should be considered in the development of culturally appropriate intervention strategies to optimize engagement in healthy lifestyles among the targeted ethnic groups.

In recent decades, ASEAN has seen significant progress in gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, advances have not been even and vulnerable women with a range of intersectional identities have not benefited to the same extent as more privileged women or their male counterparts. Moreover, despite ASEAN’s much-lauded success in COVID-19 prevention and containment, the economic gains that had been achieved for women and girls are rapidly losing ground. Disruptions in the tourism sector, labour migration, and international trade have had a devastating economic impact on vulnerable populations, while innovations and new implementation approaches have provided some relief for low-income communities. This paper describes the COVID-19 economic fallout for women homeworkers and labour migrants engaged in informal jobs in Indonesia and low-income ethnic minority women in agriculture and tourism sectors in north-west Vietnam. It discusses early experiences and learning on pivoting projects, funded by the Government of Australia, to be COVID-19 responsive and contribute to longer-term recovery.

The International Conference on Muslim Minority/Majority Relations held in New York, Rabi' al Awwal 23-25, 1410/0ctober 24 to 26, 1989 brought to the fore some of the little known but significantly major problems faced by the Muslim minority communities in many parts of the world. The magnitude of the problem can be seen from the fact that the Muslim minorities form one-third of the world Muslim population, over 300 million out of an estimated one billion Muslims. The three day conference was divided into different areas of concern. Over 50 papers were presented. Among the topics discussed were: North American Arab Muslims, an Intellectual and Attitudinal Profile of the Muslim Community in North America; Muslim/Non-Muslim Relations in America; Economic Development of Indian Muslims, Issues and Problems; The Turks in Bulgaria; South Africa: The Role of a Muslim Minority in a Situation of Change; The Islamic Minorities in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique; Muslim/Christian Relations in Sudan; Muslim Women in an Alien Society: A Case Study in West Germany; Muslims in Britain: Some Recent Developments; Muslim Minorities and non-Muslim Party Politics in the Netherlands; Muslim Minorities in the Soviet Union, China, Australia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Philippines, Thailand and other areas. The first day of the conference was devoted to North America, Asia and Africa. In the session on North America, Dr. Ni'mat Barazangi highlighted the fact that the process of adjustment and integration of Muslims in America had its own challenges. On the one hand, the immigrant Muslims realize the need to maintain their religious and cultural identity, and, on the other, it is not easy, or even practical, to stay away from the mainstream of the majority culture and its impact ...

In the period 1945-1965 most women in the state of Queensland, Australia, gave birth in hospitals and thereafter they used a variety of services and individuals for advice on infant feeding. The services available were similar throughout the period. As mothers rarely worked outside the home, being <em>good mothers</em> was important to their identity. In this historical study, telephone interviews and written responses involving 44 mothers and former nurses from every region of this geographically vast state were used in order to investigate sources of personal advice on infant feeding used during this period, mothers&rsquo; experience relating to this advice, and the extent to which they followed the advice. The free, nurse-run well-baby clinics and related services conducted by the state&rsquo;s Maternal and Child Welfare service were the most commonly mentioned services. However, the uptake of advice from this source showed considerable variation as women also drew upon family members, their general practitioners, advice columns, radio broadcasts, other mothers and their own judgment. Only rarely was a specialist pediatrician consulted. A minority of mothers was advised by pharmacists, private baby nurses, or entered residential mothercraft facilities. An important finding is that attendance at the baby clinics did not necessarily equate with compliance, especially as mothers became more experienced.

Several studies that focus on Western settings like Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have found that gendered institutions within academic careers are still preserved through various means. These studies have verified that fewer women are in tenure track positions than men. Additionally, women have been receiving a lower salary and are seldom promoted. Several issues such as mobility, parenting, and gender bias in application and evaluation rate as well as gender citation gap are highly correlated with women’s challenges in pursuing professorships. Nonetheless, there is still a lack of studies pertaining to the impact of the intersection of race and gender on the experiences of people of colour and minority groups in academia. The current study aims to explore the role that gender and race play among female academics, which includes the careers of Maori academics (the indigenous people of New Zealand) and non-white academics in New Zealand. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with 15 academic staff, including Maori and non-white academics in New Zealand, the current research corroborates the existing literature regarding the interplay of race and gender in advancing academic career. Furthermore, this research also finds that the merit-based concept or objective indicators of academic excellence do not necessarily apply in New Zealand. On account of their gender and racial identities, women of minority groups and non-white academics frequently experience multidimensional marginalisation while pursuing their academic careers.

Background: Anogenital examinations can be embarrassing for patients and can leave clinicians open to accusations of professional misconduct. Little is known about the attitudes of patients in Australia towards the use of chaperones. Methods: In 2006, we surveyed 480 patients attending two sexual health clinics in northern Sydney. Our aim was to determine their attitudes towards the use of chaperones for anogenital examinations. Results: Of the 480, 58% were male and 42% female. Most women (64%) preferred a female examining clinician, whereas most men (68%) had no preference for gender of the examining clinician (P < 0.0001). While 32% of women wanted a chaperone if being examined by a male, 29% did not. Only 4% of women wanted a chaperone when being examined by a female. Only 1% of men wanted a chaperone irrespective of the sex of the examining clinician. Independent predictors of women wanting a chaperone with a male clinician were preference for a female clinician (OR 6.59, 2.48–17.5; P < 0.001) and preference for a female chaperone (OR 4.02, 1.44–11.2; P = 0.008). The majority of participants felt that they should be involved in the decision to have a chaperone. Conclusions: Although a substantial minority of women want a chaperone when being examined by a male, a similar proportion do not want a chaperone. If a woman requests a female clinician, she should be offered a chaperone if there is only a male examiner available. Further study is required to determine why some women want a chaperone and how to distinguish them from other women.

ObjectivesRecent research from the UK, USA, Australia and Canada point to male-favouring sex ratios at birth (SRB) among their Asian minority populations, attributed to son preference and sex-selective abortion within these cultural groups. The present study conducts a similar investigation of SRBs among New Zealand’s Asian minority and migrant populations, who comprise 15% of the population.Setting and participantsThe study focused on Asian populations of New Zealand and comparisons were made with NZ European, Māori, Pacific Island and Middle-Eastern, Latin American and African groups. Secondary data were obtained from the New Zealand historical census series between 1976 and 2013 and a retrospective birth cohort in New Zealand was created using the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure from 2003 to 2018.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome measure was SRBs and sex ratios between the ages 0 and 5 by ethnicity. A logistic regression was conducted and adjusted for selected variables of interest including visa group, parity, maternal age and deprivation. Finally, associations between family size, ethnicity and family sex composition were examined in a subset of this cohort (families with two or three children).ResultsThere was no evidence of ‘missing women’ or gender bias as indicated by a deviation from the biological norm in New Zealand’s Asian population. However, Indian and Chinese families were significantly more likely to have a third child if their first two children were female compared with two male children.ConclusionThe analyses did not reveal male-favouring sex ratios and any conclusive evidence of sex-selective abortion among Indian and Chinese populations. Based on these data, we conclude that in comparison to other western countries, New Zealand’s Asian migrant populations present as an anomaly. The larger family sizes for Indian and Chinese populations where the first two children were girls suggested potentially ‘soft’ practices of son preference.

Objectives: To describe characteristics and treatments of mother-baby dyads affected by postpartum psychosis admitted to a specialist mother-baby inpatient psychiatric unit in Australia. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records for all mothers with postpartum psychosis and their babies admitted to a mother-baby unit over a 5-year period was conducted. Results: A total of 25 dyads met the study criteria. Affected women were found to be severely ill with a high rate of involuntary status (64%). They waited an average 4.7 days for a bed in the mother-baby unit. All received an atypical antipsychotic, with 16% receiving lithium augmentation. Infants were found to have generally normative growth and development, with relationship concerns noted in 5. A total of 36% of the cohort maintained some breastfeeding, and all had their infants in their care at discharge. Conclusions: The mother-baby unit enabled severely ill women to remain with their infants during treatment. While a minority of infants showed developmental concerns, appropriate development was noted in most. Future efforts should focus on determining the most effective treatments and further defining the risks and benefits for infants in mother-baby units.

Abstract Many community-dwelling older adults develop activity of daily living (ADL) disability and subsequently regain function. Using data from the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) clinical trial, we examined the relationship of gender, incident disability, and persistent disability 6 months after the incident disability. Walking, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting, and eating were assessed as ADLs, at bi-annual interviews. ADL disability was defined as requiring help with or inability to do or severe difficulty with ≥1 ADL; persistent disability was an ADL loss at 6 months after a first (incident) ADL disability. Discrete time, multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was utilized to estimate associations with developing incident ADL disability described as cause-specific hazard ratios, with death as a competing outcome. For persons with incident ADL disability, odds of developing persistent disability at 6 months as compared to recovery was determined using multivariable logistic regression. These analyses included 18,414 (51.6% women) ASPREE participants in the United States and Australia aged 70+ years (65+ years if U.S. ethnic minority) without ADL disability at trial entry. During a median follow-up of 4.7 years, 1,485 participants (63.2% women) developed an incident ADL disability, and, of those, 272 (57.0% women) met criteria for persistent disability at 6 months. Women had an increased risk (HR=1.17, 95% CI=1.05 to 1.32) of developing incident ADL disability; however, women were less likely to have persistent disability versus recovery 6 months later (OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.49 to 0.89). Why persistent disability development is lower in older women needs further exploration.

BackgroundShort interpregnancy intervals (IPIs) are associated with adverse obstetric outcomes. However, few studies have explored women’s understanding of ideal IPIs or investigated knowledge of the consequences of short IPIs.MethodsWe performed a prospective questionnaire-based study at two hospitals in Sydney, Australia. We recruited women attending antenatal clinics and collected demographic data, actual IPI, ideal IPI, contraceptive use, and education provided on birth-spacing and contraception following a previous live birth. We explored associations between an IPI <12 months and a selection of demographic and health variables.ResultsData were collected from 467 women, of whom 344 were pregnant following a live birth. Overall, 72 (20.9%) women had an IPI <12 months only 7.5% of whom believed this was ideal, and the remaining stating their ideal IPI was over 12 months (52.3%) or they had no ideal IPI (40.3%). IPI <12 months following a live birth was significantly associated with younger age (p=0.043) but not with ethnicity, relationship status, education, religion, parity nor previous mode of delivery. IPI <12 months was associated with non-use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) (p<0.001), breastfeeding <12 months (p=0.041) and shorter ideal IPI (p=0.03). Less than half of the women (43.3%, n=149) reported having received advice about IPI and less than half about postnatal contraception (44.2%, n=147).ConclusionsYounger age and non-use of LARC are significantly associated with IPIs <12 months. A minority of women with a short IPI perceived it to be ideal. Prevention of short IPIs could be achieved with improved access to postnatal contraception.

This article critiques Australia's official discourse of multiculturalism, with its rhetoric of ‘celebrating cultural diversity’ and tolerance, by looking at the way in which this discourse suppresses the ambivalent positioning of ‘Asians’ in Australian social space. The discourse of multiculturalism and the official, economically motivated desire for Australia to become ‘part of Asia’ has resulted in a relatively positive valuation of ‘Asia’ and ‘Asians’, an inversion from the racist exclusionism of the past. Against the self-congratulatory stance of this discourse, this article signals the operation of ambivalence at two levels: at the structural level, insofar as it points to the inherent contradictions in the idea of the ‘multicultural nation’ and its fantasy of a harmonious ‘unity-in-diversity’, and at the subjective level, in the sense that the ethos of multiculturalism doesn't erase the ambivalent relations of acceptance/rejection between majority and minority subjects. Several instances of such ambivalence pertaining to the positioning and representation of the ‘Asian’ woman are given.

Background Women are increasingly turning to mobile health platforms to receive health information and support in pregnancy, yet the content of these platforms vary. Although there is great potential to influence health behaviors, little research has assessed the quality of these platforms or their ability to change behavior. In recent years, validated tools to assess app quality have become available. Objective To identify and assess the quality and ongoing popularity of the top 10 freely available pregnancy apps in Australia using validated tools. Methods A systematic search on app stores to identify apps was performed. A Google Play search used subject terms pregnancy, parenting, and childbirth; the iTunes search used alternative categories medical and health and fitness. The top 250 apps from each store were cross-referenced, and the top 100 found in both Google Play and iTunes were screened for eligibility. Apps that provided health information or advice for pregnancy were included. Excluded apps focused on nonhealth information (eg, baby names). The top 10 pregnancy apps were assessed using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). A comparative analysis was conducted at 2 time points over 2 years to assess the ongoing popularity of the apps. The MARS score was compared to the download and star rating data collected from iTunes and Google Play in 2017 and 2019. Health behaviors including breastfeeding, healthy pregnancy weight, and maternal awareness of fetal movements were reviewed for apparent impact on the user’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior change intentions using the MARS perceived impact section and the Coventry, Aberdeen, and London—Refined (CALO-RE) taxonomy. Results A total of 2052 free apps were screened for eligibility, 1397 were excluded, and 655 were reviewed and scored. The top 10 apps were selected using download numbers and star ratings. All 10 apps were suboptimal in quality, practicality, and functionality. It was not possible to identify a primary purpose for all apps, and there was overlap in purpose for many. The mean overall MARS app quality score across all 10 apps was 3.01 (range 1.97-4.40) in 2017 and 3.40 (range 2.27-4.44) in 2019. A minority of apps scored well for perceived impact on health behavior using the MARS tool. Using the CALO-RE 40 item taxonomy, the number of behavior change techniques used was low. The mean number of behavior change techniques for breastfeeding was 5 (range 2-11), for pregnancy weight was 4 (range 2-12), and for maternal awareness of fetal movements was 5 (range 2-8). Conclusions This review provides valuable information to clinicians and consumers about the quality of apps currently available for pregnancy in Australia. Consideration is needed regarding the regulation of information and the potential opportunity to incorporate behavior change techniques to improve maternal and fetal outcomes.

ObjectivesMental disorders typically emerge during adolescence and young adulthood and put young people at risk for prolonged socioeconomic difficulties. This study describes the longitudinal course of social and occupational functioning of young people attending primary care-based, early intervention services.DesignA longitudinal study of young people receiving mental healthcare.SettingData were collected between January 2005 and August 2017 from a designated primary care-based mental health service.Participants554 young people (54% women) aged 12–32 years.MeasuresA systematic medical file audit collected clinical and functional information at predetermined time intervals (ie, 3 months to 5+ years) using a clinical pro forma. Group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) was used to identify distinct trajectories of social and occupational functioning over time (median number of observations per person=4; median follow-up time=23 months).ResultsBetween first clinical contact and time last seen, 15% of young people had reliably deteriorated, 23% improved and 62% did not demonstrate substantive change in function. Of the whole cohort, 69% had functional scores less than 70 at time last seen, indicative of ongoing and substantive impairment. GBTM identified six distinct functional trajectories whereby over 60% had moderate-to-serious functional impairment at entry and remained chronically impaired over time; 7% entered with serious impairment and deteriorated further; a quarter were mildly impaired at entry and functionally recovered and only a small minority (4%) presented with serious impairments and functionally improved over time. Not being in education, employment or training, previous hospitalisation and a younger age at baseline emerged as significant predictors of these functional trajectories.ConclusionYoung people with emerging mental disorders have significant functional impairment at presentation for care, and for the majority, it persists over the course of clinical care. In addition to providing clinical care earlier in the course of illness, these data suggest that more sophisticated and more intensive individual-level and organisational strategies may be required to achieve significant and sustained functional improvements.

Background Although numerous studies have demonstrated sex differences in the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB), there is a clear lack of research examining the similarities and differences between men and women in terms of the relationship between STB, transitional life events, and the coping strategies employed after experiencing such events when they are perceived as stressful. Objective This study aims to examine the differences between men’s and women’s experiences of STB, sociodemographic predictors of STB, and how coping responses after experiencing a stressful transitional life event predict STB. Methods A web-based self-report survey was used to assess the health and well-being of a voluntary community-based sample of men and women aged 16 years and older, living in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who were recruited using web-based social media promotion and snowballing. Results In total, 10,765 eligible web-based respondents participated. Compared with men, a significantly greater proportion of women reported STB (P<.001) and endorsed experiencing a transitional life event as stressful (P<.001). However, there were no gender differences in reporting that the transitional life event or events was stressful for those who also reported STB. Significant sociodemographic adjusted risk factors of STB included younger age; identifying as a sexual minority; lower subjective social connectedness; lower subjective intimate bonds; experiencing a stressful transitional life event in the past 12 months; living alone (women only); not being in employment, education, or training (women only); suddenly or unexpectedly losing a job (men only); and experiencing a relationship breakdown (men only). Protective factors included starting a new job, retiring, having a language background other than English, and becoming a parent for the first time (men only). The results relating to coping after experiencing a self-reported stressful transitional life event in the past 12 months found that regardless of sex, respondents who reported STB compared with those who did not were less likely to engage in activities that promote social connections, such as talking about their feelings (P<.001). Coping strategies significantly explained 19.0% of the STB variance for men (F16,1027=14.64; P<.001) and 22.0% for women (F16,1977=36.45; P<.001). Conclusions This research highlights multiple risk factors for STB, one of which includes experiencing at least one stressful transitional life event in the past 12 months. When individuals are experiencing such events, support from services and the community alike should consider using sex-specific or targeted strategies, as this research indicates that compared with women, more men do nothing when experiencing stress after a transitional life event and may be waiting until they experience STB to engage with their social networks for support.

Purpose The importance of events for marginalised groups has largely been overlooked within tourism, hospitality and event studies. The purpose of this study is to address this gap, emphasising the positive outcomes of power relationships rather than the negative, which have traditionally been the focus in event studies. Design/methodology/approach The study investigated eight events for indigenous and ethnic minority groups, rural women, disabled people and seniors in Australia and New Zealand. Qualitative data was collected via participant observation, reflexive ethnography, semi-structured interviews and in-the-moment conversations. An inductive thematic approach was taken to data analysis. Findings Eight themes around notions of power and empowerment were identified during the analysis: providing a platform, giving/taking ownership, gaining confidence, empowering with/through knowledge, respect, pride and affirmation, freedom to “be” and resistance. These were then viewed through the lenses of social-structural and psychological empowerment, enabling a deeper understanding of power at/through events. Research limitations/implications The paper presents a framework for empowerment that enables event organisers to both understand and deliberately plan for the productive use of power, which can reaffirm important event aims, objectives and values. It can also be used by researchers as a framework through which to identify and assess the contributing elements of empowerment at events and by local government to guide policymaking around events. Originality/value This study is the first to highlight best practices for the positive use of power at events that “empowers” marginalised groups. Grounded in empowerment theory, the study offers a new lens to reframe notions of power and provides a theoretical framework that will be of value for both critical event studies researchers, event organisers and policymakers alike.

ObjectiveLipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an important genetically determined risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASCVD). With the development of Lp(a)-lowering therapies, this study sought to characterise patterns of Lp(a) levels in a global ASCVD population and identify racial, ethnic, regional and gender differences.MethodsA multicentre cross-sectional epidemiological study to estimate the prevalence of elevated Lp(a) in patients with a history of myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke or peripheral artery disease conducted at 949 sites in 48 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, South Africa and Australia between April 2019 and July 2021. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and Lp(a) levels were measured either as mass (mg/dL) or molar concentration (nmol/L).ResultsOf 48 135 enrolled patients, 13.9% had prior measurements of Lp(a). Mean age was 62.6 (SD 10.1) years and 25.9% were female. Median Lp(a) was 18.0 mg/dL (IQR 7.9–57.1) or 42.0 nmol/L (IQR 15.0–155.4). Median LDL-C was 77 mg/dL (IQR 58.4–101.0). Lp(a) in women was higher, 22.8 (IQR 9.0–73.0) mg/dL, than in men, 17.0 (IQR 7.1–52.2) mg/dL, p<0.001. Black patients had Lp(a) levels approximately threefold higher than white, Hispanic or Asian patients. Younger patients also had higher levels. 27.9% of patients had Lp(a) levels >50 mg/dL, 20.7% had levels >70 mg/dL, 12.9% were >90 mg/dL and 26.0% of patients exceeded 150 nmol/L.ConclusionsGlobally, Lp(a) is measured in a small minority of patients with ASCVD and is highest in black, younger and female patients. More than 25% of patients had levels exceeding the established threshold for increased cardiovascular risk, approximately 50 mg/dL or 125 nmol/L.Trial registration number

Although women make up more than 50% of the population, they have long been an under-represented minority in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In chemistry, for example, only five of a total of 181 Nobel prizes (2.8%) awarded over more than 100 years have been bestowed upon women. Closer to home, Professor Frances Separovic – the subject of this special issue of Aust. J. Chem. – was the first woman chemist elected to the Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science. That happened very recently, in 2012. At that point in time, the Academy had been electing Fellows for nearly 60 years. The lack of visible female role models and the absence of women in prominent scientific positions may be one reason why girls and young women do not see STEM as a viable career option. After all, if you can’t see it, how can you be it? Here, we present personal accounts of our two quite different research career paths – one starting in 2010 that included a significant career disruption, the other starting 20 years earlier in 1990. We describe the challenges we have faced as women in a testosterone-rich environment, and the circumstances that allowed us to continue. We provide suggestions for addressing systemic, organisational, and social barriers to the progression of women in STEM.

AbstractObjectiveTo compare women's diets with recommended intakes from the new Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG 2013).DesignCross-sectional study using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Diet was assessed using a validated FFQ.SettingTwo nationally representative age cohorts of Australian women.SubjectsWomen in the young cohort (born 1973–1978, aged 31–36 years) and mid-age cohort (born 1946–1951, aged 50–55 years). Women (n 18 226) were categorised into three groups: ‘young women’ (n 5760), young ‘pregnant women’ at the time or who had given birth in the 12 months prior to the survey (n 1999) and ‘mid-age women’ (n 10 467).ResultsLess than 2 % of women in all three groups attained the ADG 2013 recommendation of five daily servings of vegetables, with the majority needing more than two additional servings. For young women, less than one-third met recommendations for fruit (32%) and meat and alternatives (28 %), while only a small minority did so for dairy (12 %) and cereals (7 %). Fifty per cent of pregnant women met guidelines for fruit, but low percentages reached guidelines for dairy (22 %), meat and alternatives (10 %) and cereals (2·5 %). For mid-age women, adherence was higher for meat and alternatives (41 %) and cereals (45 %), whereas only 1 % had the suggested dairy intake of four daily servings.ConclusionsFor most women to follow ADG 2013 recommendations would require substantially increased consumption of cereals, vegetables and dairy. Findings have implications for tailoring the dissemination of dietary guidelines for women in different age groups and for pregnant women.

Abstract Background: Chemotherapy is potentially harmful to the developing foetus and there is limited data on the foetal impact of immunotherapy except for rituximab. Therefore determining pregnancy status prior to initiation of chemo- and or immuno-therapy (CIT) should be standard of care. Repeat screening or testing during and after chemotherapy should be considered as women often cannot tell that they are pregnant due to overlapping symptoms of pregnancy, malignancy and treatment. This is of particular importance in women who are not on effective forms of contraception for personal choice or clinical reasons. Clinicians cannot presume that a patient's pregnancy status has been checked, or rely on any assumptions of abstinence, contraception or infertility based on secondary amenorrhoea. While CIT teratogenicity should be part of the informed consent discussion and it is recommended that pregnancy screening occur prior to CIT, there are no specific guidelines on this or on testing during CIT. It is our institutional standard to document consent using a standard tick box form to confirm a discussion of common and uncommon side effects of treatment, long term and life threating complications and impacts on fertility. Teratogenicity, pregnancy implications or contraception are not specified. We performed a retrospective review to evaluate the uptake of pregnancy screening prior to and during first-line CIT as well as an audit of documentation of contraception counselling in haematological and solid-organ malignancies at a large Australian tertiary cancer centre. Methods: We searched our electronic outpatient medical record database for Women of Child Bearing Potential (WoCBP) who were diagnosed with a malignancy and received outpatient based CIT between May 1 2015 and June 12 2020. WoCBP was defined as women 18-55 years of age with no record of menopause or definitive infertility. We captured patient demographics, disease details and CIT regimen. We collected result of any serum or urine b-HCG pregnancy tests done within 90 days prior to or during CIT administration and if positive, the pregnancy outcome. We captured any documentation regarding contraception prior to or during treatment. Results: A total of 415 WoCBP with a median age of 42 years (range 19-51) were included. The majority of women (79.3%) were treated for solid organ malignancies compared to haematological malignancies (20.7%) (Table 1). Only 17.1% were screened for pregnancy prior to its initiation. The average time between screening and CIT initiation was 19.5 days (range 0-90 days). Given the broad range of regimens and taking into consideration teratogenicity potential, CIT was categorised as immunotherapy alone (32.5%), chemotherapy containing an alkylating agent (25.8%) or an antimetabolite (3.9%), combination chemoimmunotherapy (15.2%) and other (22.7%). Rates of pregnancy screening within these categories is represented in Figure 1. One patient with early breast cancer had a positive pregnancy test during her 4 th cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel, in the emergency department for a presentation of nausea, anorexia, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. The outcome in this case was an early spontaneous miscarriage estimated at 3-4 weeks gestation. This is the only patient who had a pregnancy test beyond the first cycle of CIT. Only 14.8% of patients had documentation of past or present contraception methods. None of the patients had documentation regarding counselling on recommended forms of contraception. Conclusion: A minority of WoCBP received a pregnancy test prior to commencing CIT for haematological or solid organ malignancy, and none intentionally received a test prior to subsequent chemotherapy cycles through the oncology/haematology service. Also none of the women had documented counselling on contraception. These results are concerning because missing a positive pregnancy test puts women at risk of foetal complications, accidental miscarriage, potential bleeding risks and avoidable psychosocial stress. Our results are consistent with the 2 other reports on this topic and are likely generalizable to other cancer centres. This highlights the urgent need for guidelines to increase the rate of pregnancy testing in WoCBP receiving CIT and contraception counselling prior to CIT. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Hamad: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau.

Objective: Few studies exist that have examined the spectrum and natural long-term course of eating disturbance in the community. We examine the lifetime prevalence and long-term course of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in an adult female twin population. Method: Female twins (n = 1002) from the Australian Twin Registry, aged 28–39 years, were assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination, revised to yield lifetime diagnostic information. For women with lifetime eating disorders, the assessment occurred, on average, 14.52 years (SD = 5.65) after onset of their disorder. Results: In accordance with other community studies, we found a 1.9% lifetime prevalence of AN, with an additional 2.4% who met the criteria for ‘partial AN’ (absence of amenorrhea). Criteria for BN were met by 2.9% of the women, an additional 2.9% of women met criteria for binge eating disorder, while 5.3% met criteria for purging disorder unaccompanied by binge eating (EDNOS-p). Eleven (7%) of the women with lifetime eating disorders had a current eating disorder. Each diagnostic group continued to be differentiated by current eating pathology from women without lifetime eating disorders. Although approximately 75% of the women had a good outcome, less than 50% of each diagnostic group was asymptomatic. Conclusions: Eating disorders tend to improve over time often reaching subdiagnostic levels of severity, but only a minority of sufferers becomes asymptomatic. The DSM-IV diagnosis EDNOS needs to be considered in studies of the prevalence and course of eating disorders.

Background: This study examined the prevalence, correlates and consequences of abnormal Pap smears in a population-based survey of sexuality and health in the Australian community. Methods: Cross-sectional telephone survey of 908 women aged 18–59 years randomly selected from the Commonwealth electoral roll. Results: Most women (91%) reported having had at least one Pap smear test, a figure directly comparable with national estimates. Being single (prevalence ratio (PR) 4.61; 95% CI 2.09–10.17) and not having had sexual intercourse (PR 5.31, 95% CI 3.11–9.07) were strong predictors of never having been tested. One in four women (26%) who reported being screened also reported having had an abnormal Pap smear result, of whom 66% said they had further testing and 52% some form of treatment. A minority (19%) reported negative effects of treatment on their sex lives. Having been diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV) (PR 2.87, 95% CI 1.84–4.48), and to a lesser degree, having had a greater number of male sexual partners (PR 1.38, 95% CI 1.01–1.89), and experiencing sexual problems in the last year (PR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99–1.88) were independently associated with reporting of abnormal Pap smear results. Conclusions: Approximately one in four women self report lifetime exposure to Pap smear abnormalities. It is important that women are well prepared for this common experience. A causal association between multiple sexual partners and risk of acquiring HPV infection is supported by these data.

Digital harassment and abuse refers to a range of harmful, interpersonal behaviours experienced via the internet, as well as via mobile phone and other electronic communication devices. Whereas much existing research has focused on the experiences of children and young people (including foremost ‘cyberbullying’), there have been few international studies on adult experiences of digital harassment and abuse. As such, little is currently known about the extent, nature and impacts of digital harassment and abuse on adult victims. In particular, there exists a significant gap in current research into sexual, sexuality and gender based digital harassment and abuse. This article draws on findings from a larger research project in which we surveyed 2956 Australian adults and 2842 British adults (aged 18 to 54) about their experiences of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV). The data presented here focus on the experiences of sexuality diverse adults ( n = 282) who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual, as well as gender diverse adults ( n = 90), including women, men and transgender individuals. Results suggest that transgender individuals experience higher rates of digital harassment and abuse overall, and higher rates of sexual, sexuality and gender based harassment and abuse, as compared with heterosexual cisgender individuals. Implications of the findings are discussed with respect to policy, prevention, and future research.

Purpose – Increasing workforce casualisation, under representation of women and other minority groups, racial discrimination, corruption and poor safety are just some of the documented examples of intra-organisational injustice in the industry. Typically these issues are problematised separately using different theoretical frameworks, yet at the most fundamental behavioural level they have a common cause which lies in the “unjust” treatment of one person by another. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the conceptual understanding of these hitherto separated but conceptually linked problems. Design/methodology/approach – A survey 135 consultants, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers from across the Australian construction supply chain. Findings – Surprisingly despite widespread academic concerns about injustice in the construction industry, there are not significant concerns within the industry community. Contrary to much research about the poor culture of the construction industry, the results indicate that the relatively low levels of perceived injustice are institutional rather than cultural. The research also highlights the plight of middle management, which appear to consistently suffer the highest levels of injustice across all its theoretical categories. Research limitations/implications – Sample size and Australian focus. Practical implications – Informs organisational policies to reduce injustice in the construction industry. Social implications – By reducing injustice, this research will improve the fairness of business practices in the construction industry. Originality/value – Application of justice theories to conceptualise unfair construction practices.

In two studies, beliefs about descriptive and prescriptive age norms for adult developmental transitions were examined in a sample of 214 Australian university students aged seventeen to fifty years. The results of Study 1 revealed a belief by the vast majority that descriptive age norms still exist for both family transitions (marriage, parenthood, grandparenthood) and career transitions (leaving school, retirement). While these results were in keeping with those of Neugarten et al.'s [1] original study of age norms in the United States, the actual “best” normative ages recommended by this sample of contemporary Australian adults differed in every case from the U.S. age norms [1] of three decades ago. Matching contemporary demographic trends, the present Australian young-adult sample advocated later ages for marriage and grandparenthood, a younger norm for leaving school, and a broader normative age range for retiring from work. Study 2 tested Neugarten's hypothesis that age norms today lack some of the prescriptive overtones implicit in original “social clock” concept [2]. The results supported this suggestion. In fact, only a minority of contemporary Australian adults believed that there were prescriptive upper age boundaries for first marriage or university study. Furthermore, their prescriptive lower age limits for every transition except retirement fell at or below the onset of adulthood itself (18 years), in keeping with biological constraints on procreation and maturational constraints on social and cognitive development. The mean ranges of acceptability prescribed by this Australian sample for each key adult transition were likewise very wide, stretching from an average of twenty-four years (for motherhood) to forty-nine years (for a man's first marriage). This result also contrasts sharply with the ranges of no more than five years prescribed for the same transitions by the vast majority of Neugarten et al.'s sample three decade ago [1]. The probable consequences for self-esteem, mental health and life planning of this heightened variability and reduced prescriptiveness in the timing of life events for contemporary men and women were discussed.

Background More men than women in the UK are living with overweight or obesity, but men are less likely to engage with weight loss programmes. Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids is an effective Australian weight management programme that targets fathers, who participate with their primary school-aged children. Behavioural interventions do not always transfer between contexts, so an adaptation of the Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids programme to an ethnically diverse UK setting was trialled. Objectives To adapt and test the Australian Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids programme for delivery to men in an ethnically diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged UK setting. Design Phase 1a studied the cultural adaptation of the Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids programme and was informed by qualitative data from fathers and other family members, and a theoretical framework. Phase 1b was an uncontrolled feasibility trial. Phase 2 was a randomised controlled feasibility trial. Setting Two ethnically diverse, socioeconomically disadvantaged UK cities. Participants In phase 1a, participants were parents and family members from black and minority ethnic groups and/or socioeconomically deprived localities. In phases 1b and 2, participants were fathers with overweight or obesity and their children aged 4–11 years. Interventions The adapted Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids intervention comprised nine sessions that targeted diet and physical activity and incorporated joint father–child physical activity. Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids was delivered in two programmes in phase 1b and four programmes in phase 2. Those in the comparator arm in phase 2 received a family voucher to attend a local sports centre. Main outcome measures The following outcomes were measured: recruitment to the trial, retention, intervention fidelity, attendance, feasibility of trial processes and collection of outcome data. Results Forty-three fathers participated (intervention group, n = 29) in phase 2 (48% of recruitment target), despite multiple recruitment locations. Fathers’ mean body mass index was 30.2 kg/m2 (standard deviation 5.1 kg/m2); 60.2% were from a minority ethnic group, with a high proportion from disadvantaged localities. Twenty-seven (63%) fathers completed follow-up at 3 months. Identifying sites for delivery at a time that was convenient for the families, with appropriately skilled programme facilitators, proved challenging. Four programmes were delivered in leisure centres and community venues. Of the participants who attended the intervention at least once (n = 20), 75% completed the programme (attended five or more sessions). Feedback from participants rated the sessions as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and participants reported behavioural change. Researcher observations of intervention delivery showed that the sessions were delivered with high fidelity. Conclusions The intervention was well delivered and received, but there were significant challenges in recruiting overweight men, and follow-up rates at 3 and 6 months were low. We do not recommend progression to a definitive trial as it was not feasible to deliver the Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids programme to fathers living with overweight and obesity in ethnically diverse, socioeconomically deprived communities in the UK. More work is needed to explore the optimal ways to engage fathers from ethnically diverse socioeconomically deprived populations in research. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN16724454. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 8, No. 2. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

In hemochromatosis, iron overload is due to increased intestinal iron absorption attributable to mutations in several genes involved in the regulation of iron absorption and metabolism. The most common type of hemochromatosis is caused by mutations in the HFE gene, and homozygosity for the HFE p.C282Y mutation is associated with a risk of iron overload. Approximately 1:200 people of Caucasian origin are homozygous for p.C282Y, but only a minority of p.C282Y homozygotes develop significant iron overload. This is attributed in part to the presence of putative genetic modifiers of iron absorption. Recently, we identified GNPAT, encoding glyceronephosphate O-acyltransferase, as a potential modifier of HFE hemochromatosis in a whole-exome sequencing study of p.C282Y homozygotes with extreme iron overload phenotypes. A GNPAT polymorphism (p.D519G, rs11558492) was associated with severe iron overload among p.C282Y homozygous men (Hepatology 2015;62:429-39). Other studies have either substantiated or contradicted the importance of GNPAT p.D519G as a genetic modifier of iron phenotypes in HFE p.C282Y homozygotes. p.D519G is also a risk factor for familial (but not sporadic) porphyria cutanea tarda (Plos One 2016;11:e0163322). Some patients with hemochromatosis phenotypes are heterozygous for p.C282Y and a different HFE polymorphism, p.H63D (which is also common but usually not itself associated with clinically significant iron overload). Many p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes have milder iron overload phenotypes than p.C282Y homozygotes. Herein, we report studies of the prevalence of p.D519G in a cohort of compound heterozygous p.C282Y/p.H63D Australian patients, with or without elevated serum ferritin (SF) levels. We also compared p.D519G allele frequency of the present p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes with those of large population cohorts. We identified 72 HFE p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes with DNA available for analysis. Of these, 9 had missing SF data and were excluded. GNPAT p.D519G was assessed in the remaining 63 subjects. Compound heterozygotes with elevated SF levels ≥300 µg/mL (males) and ≥200 µg/mL (females) were selected as cases (n=28), and participants with SF levels below these cut-offs were classified as controls (n=35). The mean age at the time of testing was 31 y (males 31, females 31) in the control group and 48 y (males 47, females 51) in subjects with elevated SF levels. Among cases, mean SF was 612 µg/L (median 557 µg/L, IQR 361- 821 µg/L). Mean SF in the control group was 85 µg/L (median 58 µg/L, IQR 38 - 121 µg/L). All samples were genotyped for GNPAT p.D519G. We compared the p.D519G allele frequency of the present subjects, with and without elevated SF, to the p.D519G frequency in publically available datasets. p.D519G allele frequency was greater in the elevated SF group (37.5%) than the control group (24.3%), but this difference was not significant (p=0.1285). p.D519G was more prevalent in our cohort of p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes with elevated SF (37.5%) than in European populations reported in public datasets: ExAC 19.7%, 1000G 21.3%, gnomAD 20.4%, and ESP 20.6%. There was a significant association between allele count and case/control status among men (type 3 analysis of effects; p = 0.049) but not women. For a male case, the odds of having either 1 or 2 alleles versus having 0 alleles was 5.08 (95% CI, 1.01, 25.66) times higher than that of a male control. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that GNPAT p.D519G is associated with elevated SF levels in Australian HFE p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes and that the p.D519G allele frequency is greater in p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes with elevated SF than in several large European population cohorts. We found a statistically significant association between the allele count and the case/control status among men. The small number of subjects with elevated SF in our study may have limited our ability to demonstrate significant differences in some comparisons. Some subjects with p.D519G do not have elevated SF, suggesting that there are other factors, genetic or environmental, which also affect iron absorption in p.C282Y/p.H63D compound heterozygotes. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background:The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) are a group of rare heritable connective tissue disorders caused by various defects in the biosynthesis or secretion of fibrillar collagens. The three main clinical features of EDS are joint hypermobility, skin fragility and general soft tissue fragility. 13 clinical subtypes of EDS are recognized, of which the hypermobile type (hEDS) and classical type (cEDS) are the most prevalent. It has been hypothesized that the (micro-)trauma in the joint due to typical subluxations and dislocations, make EDS patients prone to developing osteoarthritis (OA) in early stage. Conversely, it has been mentioned that joint hypermobility provides a larger joint surface area and prevents OA. Abnormal biomechanical loading has been identified as a risk factor for the development of OA in the wrist and hand. However, no studies have yet been performed in EDS patients.Objectives:The primary aim was to investigate the presence of any degenerative features for hand OA, and if this differs between cEDS and hEDS patients. The second aim was to evaluate hand function and pain related to OA signs in EDS patients.Methods:cEDS and hEDS patients between 35 and 50 years old were invited to participate. cEDS diagnosis was genetically confirmed and hEDS diagnosis was performed according the clinical 2017 hEDS criteria. Exclusion criteria were a body mass index ≥35, not being able to stand straight up for five minutes, suffering from an auto-immune disease or rheumatological condition, or pregnancy. Conventional X-rays of both hands were performed and scored independently by three assessors according to Kallman1. Presence of osteophytes (0-3), joint space narrowing (0-3), malalignment (>15°)(0/1), erosions (0/1), subchondral sclerosis (0/1), and subchondral cysts (0/1) were scored in all interphalangeal (distal and proximal), metacarpophalangeal and thumb base joints of both hands1. We defined early hand OA as minimally three features (≥1) were present. Several clinical assessments were made, e.g. tenderness, bony swelling and soft tissue swelling. The Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHOQ) and Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) questionnaires were completed.Results:In total, 31 patients (mean age 41 ± 5.6 years, 13 men and 18 women) diagnosed with EDS participated, of whom 19 with cEDS and with 12 hEDS. In total, 927 joints were assessed. Level of agreement of radiographic assessments was very high (>98%). Early hand OA was found in more than 40% of the EDS patients, with a significant higher frequency in cEDS patients compared to hEDS patients (58% vs. 17%) (p=0.032). Joint space narrowing was most frequently present and significantly more in the cEDS patients compared to hEDS patients (79% vs. 21%) (p=0.003). However, radiographic changes were found in only 10% of all finger joints. Of all fingers, thumb joints were most affected. Regarding the clinical features of hand OA, all patients showed deformity in one or more finger joints, most frequently at the thumb, especially the IP joint (both hyperflexion and hyperextension). Tenderness and bony swelling was present in 36% and 45% of all patients, respectively, whereas soft tissue swelling was less frequently observed (10% of all patients). Here, no significant differences were found between cEDS and hEDS patients. Moderate disability was present (mean (SD) AUSCAN= 45.47 (27.10) and MHQ = 65.97 (14.21). cEDS showed significant less hand pain (p=0.03), a better hand function (p=0.03) and less disability (p=0.026) than hEDS.Conclusion:This explorative study demonstrates that a high number of EDS patients present with minimal degenerative features of hand OA, but in a minority of joints. Patients with cEDS were significantly more affected, but showed a better function compared to hEDS. Possibly, cEDS patients are more susceptible to develop hand OA.References:[1]Altman R, Gold G. Atlas of individual radiographic features in osteoarthritis, revised. OARSI. 2007;15:A1-A56.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

Field-based research programs offer students a singular opportunity to understand that today there are no simple scientific, economic or socio-political answers to the complex questions facing governments, communities, and local organizations. Through their research, students can gain a first-hand appreciation that decision making in the real world is a mix of all these disciplines, and that they have a vital role to play in participating in this process. According to the most recent Open Doors report (2006), issued by the Institute of International Education, about 206,000 US students studied abroad in 2004/5. While about 55% studied in Europe, an increasing number studied in other host countries around the world. Social science and physical science students comprised about 30% of all US study abroad students in this period. While study abroad programs encompassing a field research component are still in the minority, an increasing number of home institutions and field-based providers are supporting and conducting these types of programs. As the student papers in this Special Issue of Frontiers demonstrate, there is high quality work being produced by undergraduates in settings as diverse as France, Thailand, Kenya, South Africa and Mali. For these students this opportunity was likely a new experience, involving living and studying in international settings; dealing with language and culture differences; matriculating in programs operated by host country universities, independent program providers, or their home institution’s international program; and learning how to conduct research that meets professional standards. Much has been written and discussed regarding pre-departure orientation of US students studying abroad, along with studies and evaluations of the study abroad experience. Less discussion and research has focused on the experiences of the on-site faculty and staff who host students and incorporate field-based research into their courses and programs. These courses and programs involving student research include the following types: • International university-based research, in which the student conducts research on a topic as part of a course or term paper; • Independent field-based research, in which the student identifies a topic, organizes the project, and conducts the field work, analysis, write-up, etc. for an overall grade; • Collective field-based research, in which students, working under the guidance of a professor (either US or international), conduct a research project as part of a US-based course, or complementary to the professor’s research focus; • Client-focused, directed, field-based research in which the research conducted is in response to, or in collaboration with, a specific client ranging from an NGO, to a corporation, to an indigenous community, or a governmental agency. The purpose of this article is to describe some of the issues and challenges that on-site faculty and staff encounter in preparing and supporting US undergraduate students to conduct formal research projects in international settings in order to maximize their success and the quality of their research. The perspectives described below have been gathered through informal surveys with a range of international program faculty and staff; discussions with program managers and faculty; and through our own experience at The School for Field Studies (SFS), with its formal directed research model. The survey sought responses in the following areas, among others: preparing students to conduct successfully their field-based research in a different socio-cultural environment; the skill building needs of students; patterns of personal, cultural, and/or technical challenges that must be addressed to complete the process successfully; and, misconceptions that students have about field-based research. Student Preparation Students work either individually or in groups to conduct their research, depending on the program. In either case on-site faculty and staff focus immediately on training students on issues ranging from personal safety and risk management, to cultural understanding, language training, and appropriate behavior. In programs involving group work, faculty and staff have learned that good teamwork dynamics cannot be taken for granted. They work actively with students in helping them understand the ebb and flow of groups, the mutual respect which must be extended, and the active participation that each member must contribute. As one on-site director indicates, “Students make their experience what it is through their behavior. We talk a lot about respecting each other as individuals and working together to make the project a great experience.” Cultural and sensitivity training are a major part of these field-based programs. It is critical that students learn and appreciate the social and cultural context in which they will conduct their research. As another on-site director states, “It is most important that the students understand the context in which the research is happening. They need to know the values and basic cultural aspects around the project they will be working on. It is not simply doing ‘good science.’ It requires understanding the context so the science research reaches its goal.” On-site faculty and staff also stress the importance of not only understanding cultural dynamics, but also acting appropriately and sensitively relative to community norms and expectations. Language training is also a component of many of these programs. As a faculty member comments, “Students usually need help negotiating a different culture and a new language. We try to help the students understand that they need to identify appropriate solutions for the culture they are in, and that can be very difficult at times.” Skill Building Training students on the technical aspects of conducting field-based research is the largest challenge facing most on-site faculty and staff, who are often struck by the following: • A high percentage of students come to these programs with a lack of knowledge of statistics and methods. They’ve either had very little training in statistics, or they find that real world conditions complicate their data. According to one faculty member, “Statistics are a big struggle for most students. Some have done a class, but when they come to work with real data it is seldom as black and white as a text book example and that leads to interpretation issues and lack of confidence in their data. They learn that ecology (for example) is often not clear, but that is OK.” • Both physical and social science students need basic training in scientific methodology in order to undertake their projects. Even among science majors there is a significant lack of knowledge of how to design, manage and conduct a research project. As a program director states, “Many students begin by thinking that field research is comprised only of data collection. We intensively train students to understand that good research is a process that begins with conceptualization of issues, moves into review of relevant literature, structures a research hypothesis, determines indicators and measurements, creates the research design, collects data, undertakes analysis and inference. This is followed by write-up in standard scientific format for peer review and input. This leads to refining earlier hypotheses, raising new questions and initiating further research to address new questions.” Consistently, on-site faculty have indicated that helping students understand and appreciate this cycle is a major teaching challenge, but one that is critical to their education and the success of their various field research projects. • The uncertainty and ambiguity that are often present in field research creates challenges for many students who are used to seeking ‘the answer in the book.’ On-site faculty help students understand that science is a process in which field-based research is often non-linear and prone to interruption by natural and political events. It is a strong lesson for students when research subjects, be they animal or human, don’t cooperate by failing to appear on time, or at all, and when they do appear they may have their own agendas. Finally, when working with human communities, student researchers need to understand that their research results and recommendations are not likely to result in immediate action. Program faculty help them to understand that the real world includes politics, conflicting attitudes, regulatory issues, funding issues, and other community priorities. • Both physical and social science students demonstrate a consistent lack of skill in technical and evidence-based writing. For many this type of writing is completely new and is a definite learning experience. As a faculty member states, “Some students find the report writing process very challenging. We want them to do well, but we don’t want to effectively write their paper for them.” Challenges The preceding points address some of the technical work that on-site faculty conduct with students. Faculty also witness and experience the ‘emotional’ side of field-based research being conducted by their students. This includes what one faculty member calls “a research-oriented motivation” — the need for students to develop a strong, energized commitment to overcome all the challenges necessary to get the project done. As another professor indicates, “At the front end the students don’t realize how much effort they will have to expend because they usually have no experience with this sort of work before they do their project.” Related to this is the need for students to learn that flexibility in the research process does not justify a sloppy or casual approach. It does mean a recognition that human, political, and meteorological factors may intervene, requiring the ability to adapt to changed conditions. The goal is to get the research done. The exact mechanics for doing so will emerge as the project goes on. “Frustration tolerance” is critical in conducting this type of work. Students have the opportunity to learn that certain projects need to incorporate a substantial window of time while a lengthy ethics approval and permit review system is conducted by various governmental agencies. Students learn that bureaucracies move at their own pace, and for reasons that may not be obvious. Finally, personal challenges to students may include being uncomfortable in the field (wet, hot, covered in scrub itch) or feeling over-tired. As a faculty member states, “Many have difficulty adjusting to the early mornings my projects usually involve.” These issues represent a range of challenges that field-based research faculty and staff encounter in working with undergraduate students in designing and conducting their research projects around the world. In my own experience with SFS field-based staff, and in discussions with a wide variety of others who work and teach on-site, I am consistently impressed by the dedication, energy and commitment of these men and women to train, support and mentor students to succeed. As an on-site director summarizes, essentially speaking for all, “Fortunately, most of the students attending our program are very enthusiastic learners, take their limitations positively, and hence put tremendous effort into acquiring the required skills to conduct quality research.” Summary/Conclusions Those international program faculty and staff who have had years of experience in dealing with and teaching US undergraduates are surprised that the US educational system has not better prepared students on subjects including statistics, scientific report formatting and composition, and research methodologies. They find that they need to address these topics on an intensive basis in order for a substantial number of students to then conduct their research work successfully. Having said this, on-site faculty and staff are generally impressed by the energy and commitment that most students put into learning the technical requirements of a research project and carrying it out to the best of their abilities. Having students conduct real field-based research, and grading these efforts, is a very concrete method of determining the seriousness with which a student has participated in their study abroad program. Encouraging field-based research is good for students and good for study abroad because it has the potential of producing measurable products based on very tangible efforts. In a number of instances students have utilized their field research as the basis for developing their senior thesis or honors project back on their home campus. Successful field research has also formed the basis of Fulbright or Watson proposals, in addition to other fellowships and graduate study projects. An increasing number of students are also utilizing their field research, often in collaboration with their on-site program faculty, to create professional conference presentations and posters. Some of these field-based research models also produce benefits for incountry clients, including NGOs, corporations and community stakeholders. In addition to providing the data, analyses, technical information, and recommendations that these groups might not otherwise be able to afford, it is a concrete mechanism for the student and her/his study abroad program faculty and staff to ‘give back’ to local stakeholders and clients. It changes the dynamic from the student solely asking questions, interviewing respondents, observing communities, to more of a mutually beneficial relationship. This is very important to students who are sensitive to this dynamic. It is also important to their program faculty and staff, and in most cases, genuinely appreciated by the local stakeholders. In essence, community identified and responsive research is an excellent mechanism for giving to a community — not just taking from it. An increasing interest in conducting field-based research on the part of US universities and their students may have the effect of expanding the international destinations to which US students travel. A student’s sociological, anthropological, or environmental interest and their desire to conduct field research in that academic discipline, for example, may help stretch the parameters of the student’s comfort level to study in more exotic (non-traditional) locales. Skill building in preparing for and conducting field-based research is an invaluable experience for the student’s future academic and professional career. It is a fairly common experience for these students to indicate that with all the classroom learning they have done, their study abroad experience wherein they got their hands dirty, their comfort level stretched, their assumptions tested, and their work ethic challenged, provided them with an invaluable and life changing experience. Conducting field-based research in an international setting provides real world experience, as the student papers in this edition of Frontiers attest. It also brings what may have only been academic subjects, like statistics, and research design and methodology, to life in a real-conditions context. On a related note, conducting real field-based work includes the requirement to endure field conditions, remote locations, bad weather, personal discomforts, technological and mechanical breakdowns, and sometimes dangerous situations. Field research is hard work if it is done rigorously. In addition, field work often includes non-cooperating subjects that defy prediction, and may confound a neat research hypothesis. For a student considering a profession which requires a serious commitment to social or physical science field work this study abroad experience is invaluable. It clarifies for the student what is really involved, and it is helpful to the student in assessing their future career focus, as they ask the critical question — would I really want to do this as a fulltime career? US education needs to bridge better the gap between the physical and social sciences. Students are done a disservice with the silo-type education that has been so prevalent in US education. In the real world there are no strictly scientific, economic, or sociological solutions to complex, vexing problems facing the global community. Going forward there needs to be interdisciplinary approaches to these issues by decision makers at all levels. We need to train our students to comprehend that while they may not be an ecologist, or an economist, or a sociologist, they need to understand and appreciate that all these perspectives are important and must be considered in effective decision-making processes. In conclusion, education abroad programs involving serious field-based research are not a distraction or diversion from the prescribed course of study at US home institutions; rather, they are, if done well, capable of providing real, tangible skills and experience that students lack, in spite of their years of schooling. This is the reward that is most meaningful to the international program faculty and staff who teach, mentor and support US students in conducting their field-based research activities. As an Australian on-site program director stated, “there are relatively few students who are adequately skilled in these (field research) areas when they come to our program. Most need a lot of instruction and assistance to complete their research projects, but that of course is part of what we’re all about — helping students acquire or improve these critical skills.” This is the real service that these programs and on-site faculty and staff offer to US undergraduates. Paul Houlihan, President The School for Field Studies

ABSTRACT Today’s construction industry has extreme gender stratification that is still traditional in the employment of women. Even though the participation of women in the construction industry has grown, women are still considered as a minority in this field. The industry is considered as male-dominated with low participation of women. The aim of this study is to compare the challenges faced by women construction workers in two different countries: Australia and India. In this context, the study also investigated the level of participation of women in the construction industry and the common challenges faced by women that hinder their participation around the globe. The significant barriers that are faced by women construction workers around the globe are the male-dominated nature and masculine culture of the industry, work-family balance, lack of career progression, longer working hours and the complex workplace culture. When comparing the barriers faced by women in the Indian and Australian construction industry, some of them similar, whereas some are different. The barriers faced by women in Australia are gender stereotyping, lack of awareness, the rigidity of work roles, flexibility issues and changing the family structure. On the other hand, In India, women face barriers such as unequal wages, caste, cultural and religion restrictions, poor sanitary facilities, seasonal work irregularity and health hazards. The research proves that there are many barriers that counteract the participation of women in the industry and thus recommends some measures to improve their involvement. Keywords—Women, Construction industry, Challenges or barriers or problems, Indian and Australian construction industry, Gender discrimination

The confidence of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors/victims in the criminal justice system (CJS) is important to consider when exploring intervention and prevention strategies toward deterring IPV. Information on the experiences of IPV survivors/victims with the justice system is greatly lacking. This issue is even more so for IPV survivors/victims for minority communities such as Australian–Muslims. The lack of cultural and religious sensitivity that many immigrant women experience with the CJS deters them from accessing the CJS. In addition, the contrast between the mediation processes in courts and those of religious requirements may make the mediation processes ineffective if they do not include the perpetrators in the mediation process. Furthermore, for many migrant women, their lack of knowledge about their rights under the Australian legal system renders them powerless to undertake active action against IPV in their relationships. Due to the lack of research on Muslim women’s experiences, it is difficult to ascertain how the justice system response can effectively address IPV issues for Australian Muslim women. It is therefore necessary to solicit Muslim women’s views and explore past experiences with the justice system to inform future reforms that will better meet the justice response needs of Muslim women in Australia. This article explores Muslim women’s positive and negative experiences with the justice system in response to their IPV victimization. It also investigates the constraints that have deterred Muslim women from seeking assistance from the Australian criminal justice system (ACJS), particularly in the reporting of intimate partner violence. The findings of this research give voice to Muslim women’s past experiences with the CJS. It is expected that the findings will influence practical outcomes that can facilitate strategies by the CJS to promote inclusiveness among Muslim women to increase their confidence in the CJS.

AbstractIntimate partner and family violence (IPFV) is highly prevalent among tertiary students in Australia and internationally. Yet, relatively little is known about the help-seeking patterns of student victim-survivors and how these patterns vary cross-culturally. This study examined formal help-seeking needs, behaviors, and barriers among women tertiary students in Australia who had experienced IPFV and cross-cultural differences therein. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from adult women studying at tertiary education institutions across Australia. Those who reported IPFV (physical, sexual, psychological, and/or financial) victimization during their adult lives were included in this study (N = 1,606). Descriptive statistics were calculated for the full sample and by cultural identity. A series of logistic regression analyses was conducted to assess associations between culture and help-seeking, unadjusted and adjusted for sociodemographic factors (gender identity, age, area, employment, and institution type). Less than half (48.7%) of participants had sought formal help, despite a larger proportion (66.2%) perceiving a need for such help. Two thirds (65.5%) of participants reported barriers to help-seeking, which were predominantly attitudinal or normative in nature. Cultural identity was significantly associated with help-seeking in the unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Cultural minority students were generally less likely to perceive a need for help and to seek help than the majority. Continued efforts are needed to promote and facilitate formal help-seeking for IPFV among tertiary students, and particularly among cultural minority students. Further work is needed to understand the factors that contribute to cultural inequalities in help-seeking and to inform culturally responsive support services for student victim-survivors.

Discourses of hustling are ever-present in a global, capitalist society in which, among other reforms, notions of time are compressed and intensified and neoliberalism is operationalised as a form of affective self-governance. Global brand campaigns like Nike’s ‘Rise and Grind’ want consumers to believe that hard work and persistence produces individual exceptionalism. Young people working in technology, cultural and creative industries in urban cities ‘never stop hustling – one never exits a kind of work rapture, in which the chief purpose of exercising or attending a concert is to get inspiration that leads back to the desk’ . This is the latest iteration of a corporatised vision of the hustle that seeks to glamourise exploitative working conditions, creating a culture where overwork and an obsession with being productive is the norm. This article considers how these discourses come into contact with localised migrant understandings of ‘the hustle’: an orientation to work rooted in the legacy of ethnic entrepreneurship. Drawing on a qualitative study with creative and cultural workers of ethnic minority backgrounds in Australia, the article explores their motivations to pursue creative vocational pathways in spite of structural challenges. While creative and cultural workers are heralded as model entrepreneurial subjects for their highly autonomous and flexible work patterns, here I draw on narratives about work and creative expression to suggest that the experiences of racialised young women lead to new possibilities for a race critical analysis of postfeminist, neoliberal discourses of entrepreneurship. By exploring how precarity and work insecurity is negotiated in the context of racialised young women’s lives, I ask what the implications are for minority young women who buy into the neoliberal values of individual exceptionalism and the myths of meritocracy while remaining embedded in their local communities.

Hazaras form an Afghan ethnic minority group in Australia who arrived as refugees and through humanitarian resettlement schemes over the past three decades. This qualitative study explored psychological distress in a community sample of young adult Hazaras with a refugee background. The aim was to contribute to a more detailed understanding of their mental health, coping, and help-seeking in Australia. Eighteen Hazaras, nine males and nine females aged 18–30 years ( M = 22.39, SD = 3.35), in Perth, Melbourne, or Sydney, who had been living in Australia on average 7.17 years (range 1 to 16 years), participated in a semi-structured interview based on Kleinman's explanatory model framework. Participants described mental and physical health as interconnected and their explanatory models for psychological distress focused on their current difficult life experiences as refugees. Findings indicated noteworthy gender differences, with young women reporting less distress associated with adaptation than did young men. Some young people used positive coping strategies in the community, while others engaged with a variety of mental health services. Level of satisfaction with these services varied considerably, with satisfaction highest for services provided by multicultural centers. Generally, respondents were not focused on their past traumas, but more interested in planning for their futures in Australia. Key implications for culturally appropriate training and specialized interventions for use with young adult Hazaras from refugee backgrounds are discussed.

Indigenous academics are a minority within the academy, with the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, staffing, and student numbers well established. A growing body of literature examines the motivations of Indigenous peoples who enroll and complete University degrees, however a dearth of literature examines the journeys and motivations of those who choose to be academics. A review of papers largely produced by Indigenous academics highlights that though a paucity of literature directly centers their motivation in undertaking their initial studies or joining the academy; legacy, family and community motivations appear regularly, though often mentioned in incidental, backgrounded or de-centered ways. Drawing upon existing literature, interviews with 17 Indigenous academic women, and Indigenous Research Methodologies, this article foregrounds and centers consideration of legacy motivations for academic women’s professional work, and initial journey into higher education study. It argues the implications of academic engagement for Indigenous women, in so-called Australia, include wider influences, impacts and outcomes for their immediate familial, extended kinship and broader Indigenous community groups. It posits that these are not secondary or incidental, but primary motivations and shaping influences on Indigenous women's academics careers and how they should be understood, valued and supported by institutions.

Women in federal politics are under-represented today and always have been. At no time in the history of the federal parliament have women achieved equal representation with men. There have never been an equal number of women in any federal cabinet. Women have never held an equitable number of executive positions of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) or the Liberal Party. Australia has had only one female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and she was the recipient of sexist treatment in the parliament and the media. A 2019 report by Plan International found that girls and women, were “reluctant to pursue a career in politics, saying they worry about being treated unfairly.” The Report author said the results were unsurprisingwhen you consider how female politicians are still treated in Parliament and the media in this country, is it any wonder the next generation has no desire to expose themselves to this world? Unfortunately, in Australia, girls grow up seeing strong, smart, capable female politicians constantly reduced to what they’re wearing, comments about their sexuality and snipes about their gender.What voters may not always see is how women in politics respond to sexist treatment, or to bullying, or having to vote against their principles because of party rules, or to having no support to lead the party. Rather than being political victims and quitting, there is a ground-swell of women who are fighting back. The rage they feel at being excluded, bullied, harassed, name-called, and denied leadership opportunities is being channelled into rage against the structures that deny them equality. The rage they feel is building resilience and it is building networks of women across the political divide. This article highlights some female MPs who are “maintaining the rage”. It suggests that the rage that is evident in their public responses is empowering them to stand strong in the face of adversity, in solidarity with other female MPs, building their resilience, and strengthening calls for social change and political equality.Her-story of Women’s MovementsThroughout the twentieth century, women stood for equal rights and personal empowerment driven by rage against their disenfranchisement. Significant periods include the early 1900s, with suffragettes gaining the vote for women. The interwar period of 1919 to 1938 saw women campaign for financial independence from their husbands (Andrew). Australian women were active citizens in a range of campaigns for improved social, economic and political outcomes for women and their children.Early contributions made by women to Australian society were challenges to the regulations and of female sexuality and reproduction. Early twentieth century feminist organisations such The Women’s Peace Army, United Association of Women, the Australian Federation of Women’s Societies for Equal Citizenship, the Union of Australian Women, the National Council of Women, and the Australian Federation of Women Voters, proved the early forerunners to the 1970s Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM). It was in many of these early campaigns that the rage expressed in the concept of the “personal is political” (Hanisch) became entrenched in Australian feminist approaches to progressive social change. The idea of the “personal is political” encapsulated that it was necessary to challenge and change power relations, achievable when women fully participated in politics (van Acker 25). Attempts by women during the 1970s to voice concerns about issues of inequality, including sexuality, the right to abortion, availability of childcare, and sharing of household duties, were “deemed a personal problem” and not for public discussion (Hanisch). One core function of the WLM was to “advance women’s positions” via government legislation or, as van Acker (120) puts it, the need for “feminist intervention in the state.” However, in advocating for policy reform, the WLM had no coherent or organised strategy to ensure legislative change. The establishment of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL), together with the Femocrat strategy, sought to rectify this. Formed in 1972, WEL was tasked with translating WLM concerns into government policy.The initial WEL campaign took issues of concern to WLM to the incoming Whitlam government (1972-1975). Lyndall Ryan (73) notes: women’s liberationists were the “stormtroopers” and WEL the “pragmatic face of feminism.” In 1973 Whitlam appointed Elizabeth Reid, a member of WLM, as Australia’s first Women’s Advisor. Of her appointment, Reid (3) said, “For the first time in our history we were being offered the opportunity to attempt to implement what for years we had been writing, yelling, marching and working towards. Not to respond would have felt as if our bluff had been called.” They had the opportunity in the Whitlam government to legislatively and fiscally address the rage that drove generations of women to yell and march.Following Reid were the appointments of Sara Dowse and Lyndall Ryan, continuing the Femocrat strategy of ensuring women were appointed to executive bureaucratic roles within the Whitlam government. The positions were not well received by the mainly male-dominated press gallery and parliament. As “inside agitators” (Eisenstein) for social change the central aim of Femocrats was social and economic equity for women, reflecting social justice and progressive social and public policy. Femocrats adopted a view about the value of women’s own lived experiences in policy development, application and outcome. The role of Senator Susan Ryan is of note. In 1981, Ryan wrote and introduced the Sex Discrimination Bill, the first piece of federal legislation of its type in Australia. Ryan was a founding member of WEL and was elected to the Senate in 1975 on the slogan “A woman’s place is in the Senate”. As Ryan herself puts it: “I came to believe that not only was a woman’s place in the House and in the Senate, as my first campaign slogan proclaimed, but a feminist’s place was in politics.” Ryan, the first Labor woman to represent the ACT in the Senate, was also the first Labor woman appointed as a federal Minister.With the election of the economic rationalist Hawke and Keating Governments (1983-1996) and the neoliberal Howard Government (1996-2007), what was a “visible, united, highly mobilised and state-focused women’s movement” declined (Lake 260). This is not to say that women today reject the value of women’s voices and experiences, particularly in politics. Many of the issues of the 1970s remain today: domestic violence, unequal pay, sexual harassment, and a lack of gender parity in political representation. Hence, it remains important that women continue to seek election to the national parliament.Gender Gap: Women in Power When examining federal elections held between 1972 and 2016, women have been under-represented in the lower house. In none of these elections have women achieved more than 30 per cent representation. Following the 1974 election less that one per cent of the lower house were women. No women were elected to the lower house at the 1975 or 1977 election. Between 1980 and 1996, female representation was less than 10 per cent. In 1996 this rose to 15 per cent and reached 29 per cent at the 2016 federal election.Following the 2016 federal election, only 32 per cent of both chambers were women. After the July 2016 election, only eight women were appointed to the Turnbull Ministry: six women in Cabinet and two women in the Outer Cabinet (Parliament of Australia). Despite the higher representation of women in the ALP, this is not reflected in the number of women in the Shadow Cabinet. Just as female parliamentarians have never achieved parity, neither have women in the Executive Branch.In 2017, Australia was ranked 50th in the world in terms of gender representation in parliament, between The Philippines and South Sudan. Globally, there are 38 States in which women account for less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians. As at January 2017, the three highest ranking countries in female representation were Rwanda, Bolivia and Cuba. The United Kingdom was ranked 47th, and the United States 104th (IPU and UNW). Globally only 18 per cent of government ministers are women (UNW). Between 1960 and 2013, 52 women became prime ministers worldwide, of those 43 have taken office since 1990 (Curtin 191).The 1995 United Nations (UN) Fourth World Conference on Women set a 30 per cent target for women in decision-making. This reflects the concept of “critical mass”. Critical mass proposes that for there to be a tipping balance where parity is likely to emerge, this requires a cohort of a minimum of 30 per cent of the minority group.Gender scholars use critical mass theory to explain that parity won’t occur while there are only a few token women in politics. Rather, only as numbers increase will women be able to build a strong enough presence to make female representation normative. Once a 30 per cent critical mass is evident, the argument is that this will encourage other women to join the cohort, making parity possible (Childs & Krook 725). This threshold also impacts on legislative outcomes, because the larger cohort of women are able to “influence their male colleagues to accept and approve legislation promoting women’s concerns” (Childs & Krook 725).Quotas: A Response to Gender InequalityWith women representing less than one in five parliamentarians worldwide, gender quotas have been introduced in 90 countries to redress this imbalance (Krook). Quotas are an equal opportunity measure specifically designed to re-dress inequality in political representation by allocating seats to under-represented groups (McCann 4). However, the effectiveness of the quota system is contested, with continued resistance, particularly in conservative parties. Fine (3) argues that one key objection to mandatory quotas is that they “violate the principle of merit”, suggesting insufficient numbers of women capable or qualified to hold parliamentary positions.In contrast, Gauja (2) suggests that “state-mandated electoral quotas work” because in countries with legislated quotas the number of women being nominated is significantly higher. While gender quotas have been brought to bear to address the gender gap, the ability to challenge the majority status of men has been limited (Hughes).In 1994 the ALP introduced rule-based party quotas to achieve equal representation by 2025 and a gender weighting system for female preselection votes. Conversely, the Liberal Party have a voluntary target of reaching 50 per cent female representation by 2025. But what of the treatment of women who do enter politics?Fig. 1: Portrait of Julia Gillard AC, 27th Prime Minister of Australia, at Parliament House, CanberraInside Politics: Misogyny and Mobs in the ALPIn 2010, Julia Gillard was elected as the leader of the governing ALP, making her Australia’s first female Prime Minister. Following the 2010 federal election, called 22 days after becoming Prime Minister, Gillard was faced with the first hung parliament since 1940. She formed a successful minority government before losing the leadership of the ALP in June 2013. Research demonstrates that “being a female prime minister is often fraught because it challenges many of the gender stereotypes associated with political leadership” (Curtin 192). In Curtin’s assessment Gillard was naïve in her view that interest in her as the country’s first female Prime Minister would quickly dissipate.Gillard, argues Curtin (192-193), “believed that her commitment to policy reform and government enterprise, to hard work and maintaining consensus in caucus, would readily outstrip the gender obsession.” As Curtin continues, “this did not happen.” Voters were continually reminded that Gillard “did not conform to the traditional.” And “worse, some high-profile men, from industry, the Liberal Party and the media, indulged in verbal attacks of a sexist nature throughout her term in office (Curtin 192-193).The treatment of Gillard is noted in terms of how misogyny reinforced negative perceptions about the patriarchal nature of parliamentary politics. The rage this created in public and media spheres was double-edged. On the one hand, some were outraged at the sexist treatment of Gillard. On the other hand, those opposing Gillard created a frenzy of personal and sexist attacks on her. Further attacking Gillard, on 25 February 2011, radio broadcaster Alan Jones called Gillard, not only by her first-name, but called her a “liar” (Kwek). These attacks and the informal way the Prime Minister was addressed, was unprecedented and caused outrage.An anti-carbon tax rally held in front of Parliament House in Canberra in March 2011, featured placards with the slogans “Ditch the Witch” and “Bob Brown’s Bitch”, referring to Gillard and her alliance with the Australian Greens, led by Senator Bob Brown. The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and other members of the Liberal Party were photographed standing in front of the placards (Sydney Morning Herald, Vertigo). Criticism of women in positions of power is not limited to coming from men alone. Women from the Liberal Party were also seen in the photo of derogatory placards decrying Gillard’s alliances with the Greens.Gillard (Sydney Morning Herald, “Gillard”) said she was “offended when the Leader of the Opposition went outside in the front of Parliament and stood next to a sign that said, ‘Ditch the witch’. I was offended when the Leader of the Opposition stood next to a sign that ascribed me as a man’s bitch.”Vilification of Gillard culminated in October 2012, when Abbott moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the House, Peter Slipper. Abbott declared the Gillard government’s support for Slipper was evidence of the government’s acceptance of Slipper’s sexist attitudes (evident in allegations that Slipper sent a text to a political staffer describing female genitals). Gillard responded with what is known as the “Misogyny speech”, pointing at Abbott, shaking with rage, and proclaiming, “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man” (ABC). Apart from vilification, how principles can be forsaken for parliamentary, party or electoral needs, may leave some women circumspect about entering parliament. Similar attacks on political women may affirm this view.In 2010, Labor Senator Penny Wong, a gay Member of Parliament and advocate of same-sex marriage, voted against a bill supporting same-sex marriage, because it was not ALP policy (Q and A, “Passion”). Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson, Alex Greenwich, strongly condemned Wong’s vote as “deeply hypocritical” (Akersten). The Sydney Morning Herald (Dick), under the headline “Married to the Mob” asked:a question: what does it now take for a cabinet minister to speak out on a point of principle, to venture even a mild criticism of the party position? ... Would you object if your party, after fixing some areas of discrimination against a minority group of which you are a part, refused to move on the last major reform for that group because of ‘tradition’ without any cogent explanation of why that tradition should remain? Not if you’re Penny Wong.In 2017, during the postal vote campaign for marriage equality, Wong clarified her reasons for her 2010 vote against same-sex marriage saying in an interview: “In 2010 I had to argue a position I didn’t agree with. You get a choice as a party member don’t you? You either resign or do something like that and make a point, or you stay and fight and you change it.” Biding her time, Wong used her rage to change policy within the ALP.In continuing personal attacks on Gillard, on 19 March 2012, Gillard was told by Germaine Greer that she had a “big arse” (Q and A, “Politics”) and on 27 August 2012, Greer said Gillard looked like an “organ grinder’s monkey” (Q and A, “Media”). Such an attack by a prominent feminist from the 1970s, on the personal appearance of the Prime Minister, reinforced the perception that it was acceptable to criticise a woman in this position, in ways men have never been. Inside Politics: Leadership and Bullying inside the Liberal PartyWhile Gillard’s leadership was likely cut short by the ongoing attacks on her character, Liberal Deputy leader Julie Bishop was thwarted from rising to the leadership of the Liberal Party, thus making it unlikely she will become the Liberal Party’s first female Prime Minister. Julie Bishop was Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018, having entered politics in 1998.With the impending demise of Prime Minister Turnbull in August 2018, Bishop sought support from within the Liberal Party to run for the leadership. In the second round of leadership votes Bishop stood for the leadership in a three-cornered race, coming last in the vote to Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison. Bishop resigned as the Foreign Affairs Minister and took a seat on the backbench.When asked if the Liberal Party would elect a popular female leader, Bishop replied: “When we find one, I’m sure we will.” Political journalist Annabel Crabb offered further insight into what Bishop meant when she addressed the press in her red Rodo shoes, labelling the statement as “one of Julie Bishop’s chilliest-ever slapdowns.” Crabb, somewhat sardonically, suggested this translated as Bishop listing someone with her qualifications and experience as: “Woman Works Hard, Is Good at Her Job, Doesn't Screw Up, Loses Out Anyway.”For political journalist Tony Wright, Bishop was “clearly furious with those who had let their testosterone get the better of them and their party” and proceeded to “stride out in a pair of heels in the most vivid red to announce that, despite having resigned the deputy position she had occupied for 11 years, she was not about to quit the Parliament.” In response to the lack of support for Bishop in the leadership spill, female members of the federal parliament took to wearing red in the parliamentary chambers signalling that female members were “fed up with the machinations of the male majority” (Wright).Red signifies power, strength and anger. Worn in parliament, it was noticeable and striking, making a powerful statement. The following day, Bishop said: “It is evident … that there is an acceptance of a level of behaviour in Canberra that would not be tolerated in any other workplace across Australia" (Wright).Colour is political. The Suffragettes of the early twentieth century donned the colours of purple and white to create a statement of unity and solidarity. In recent months, Dr Kerryn Phelps used purple in her election campaign to win the vacated seat of Wentworth, following Turnbull’s resignation, perhaps as a nod to the Suffragettes. Public anger in Wentworth saw Phelps elected, despite the electorate having been seen as a safe Liberal seat.On 21 February 2019, the last sitting day of Parliament before the budget and federal election, Julie Bishop stood to announce her intention to leave politics at the next election. To some this was a surprise. To others it was expected. On finishing her speech, Bishop immediately exited the Lower House without acknowledging the Prime Minister. A proverbial full-stop to her outrage. She wore Suffragette white.Victorian Liberal backbencher Julia Banks, having declared herself so repelled by bullying during the Turnbull-Dutton leadership delirium, announced she was quitting the Liberal Party and sitting in the House of Representatives as an Independent. Banks said she could no longer tolerate the bullying, led by members of the reactionary right wing, the coup was aided by many MPs trading their vote for a leadership change in exchange for their individual promotion, preselection endorsements or silence. Their actions were undeniably for themselves, for their position in the party, their power, their personal ambition – not for the Australian people.The images of male Liberal Members of Parliament standing with their backs turned to Banks, as she tended her resignation from the Liberal Party, were powerful, indicating their disrespect and contempt. Yet Banks’s decision to stay in politics, as with Wong and Bishop is admirable. To maintain the rage from within the institutions and structures that act to sustain patriarchy is a brave, but necessary choice.Today, as much as any time in the past, a woman’s place is in politics, however, recent events highlight the ongoing poor treatment of women in Australian politics. Yet, in the face of negative treatment – gendered attacks on their character, dismissive treatment of their leadership abilities, and ongoing bullying and sexism, political women are fighting back. They are once again channelling their rage at the way they are being treated and how their abilities are constantly questioned. They are enraged to the point of standing in the face of adversity to bring about social and political change, just as the suffragettes and the women’s movements of the 1970s did before them. The current trend towards women planning to stand as Independents at the 2019 federal election is one indication of this. Women within the major parties, particularly on the conservative side of politics, have become quiet. Some are withdrawing, but most are likely regrouping, gathering the rage within and ready to make a stand after the dust of the 2019 election has settled.ReferencesAndrew, Merrindahl. Social Movements and the Limits of Strategy: How Australian Feminists Formed Positions on Work and Care. Canberra. 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Inside Agitators: Australian Femocrats and the State. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1996.Fine, Cordelia. “Do Mandatory Gender Quotas Work?” The Monthly Mar. 2012. 6 Feb. 2018 <https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2012/march/1330562640/cordelia-fine/status-quota>.Gauja, Anika. “How the Liberals Can Fix Their Gender Problem.” The Conversation 13 Oct. 2017. 16 Oct. 2017 <https://theconversation.com/how-the-liberals-can-fix-their-gender-problem- 85442>.Hanisch, Carol. “Introduction: The Personal is Political.” 2006. 18 Sep. 2016 <http://www.carolhanisch.org/CHwritings/PIP.html>.Hughes, Melanie. “Intersectionality, Quotas, and Minority Women's Political Representation Worldwide.” American Political Science Review 105.3 (2011): 604-620.Inter-Parliamentary Union. Equality in Politics: A Survey of Women and Men in Parliaments. 2008. 25 Feb. 2018 <http://archive.ipu.org/pdf/publications/equality08-e.pdf>.Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations Women. Women in Politics: 2017. 2017. 29 Jan. 2018 <https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/infographics/2017-03/women-in-politics-2017>.Krook, Mona Lena. “Gender Quotas as a Global Phenomenon: Actors and Strategies in Quota Adoption.” European Political Science 3.3 (2004): 59–65.———. “Candidate Gender Quotas: A Framework for Analysis.” European Journal of Political Research 46 (2007): 367–394.Kwek, Glenda. “Alan Jones Lets Rip at ‘Ju-liar’ Gillard.” Sydney Morning Herald 25 Feb. 2011. 12 Sep. 2016 <http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/alan-jones-lets-rip-at-juliar-gillard-20110224-1b7km.html>.Lake, Marilyn. Getting Equal: The History of Australian Feminism. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1999.McCann, Joy. “Electoral Quotas for Women: An International Overview.” Parliament of Australia Library 14 Nov. 2013. 1 Feb. 2018 <https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1314/ElectoralQuotas>.Parliament of Australia. “Current Ministry List: The 45th Parliament.” 2016. 11 Sep. 2016 <http://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/parliamentary_handbook/current_ministry_list>.Plan International. “Girls Reluctant to Pursue a Life of Politics Cite Sexism as Key Reason.” 2018. 20 Jan. 2019 <https://www.plan.org.au/media/media-releases/girls-have-little-to-no-desire-to-pursue-a-career-in-politics>.Q and A. “Mutilation and the Media Generation.” ABC Television 27 Aug. 2012. 28 Sep. 2016 <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3570412.htm>.———. “Politics and Porn in a Post-Feminist World.” ABC Television 19 Mar. 2012. 12 Sep. 2016 <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3451584.htm>.———. “Where Is the Passion?” ABC Television 26 Jul. 2010. 23 Mar. 2018 <http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s2958214.htm?show=transcript>.Reid, Elizabeth. “The Child of Our Movement: A Movement of Women.” Different Lives: Reflections on the Women’s Movement and Visions of Its Future. Ed. Jocelynne Scutt. Ringwood: Penguin 1987. 107-120.Ryan, L. “Feminism and the Federal Bureaucracy 1972-83.” Playing the State: Australian Feminist Interventions. Ed. Sophie Watson. Sydney: Allen and Unwin 1990.Ryan, Susan. “Fishes on Bicycles.” Papers on Parliament 17 (Sep. 1992). 1 Mar. 2018 <https://www.aph.gov.au/~/~/link.aspx?_id=981240E4C1394E1CA3D0957C42F99120>.Sydney Morning Herald. “‘Pinocchio Gillard’: Strong Anti-Gillard Emissions at Canberra Carbon Tax Protest.” 23 Mar. 2011. 12 Sep. 2016 <http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/pinocchio-gillard-strong-antigillard-emissions-at-canberra-carbon-tax-protest-20110323-1c5w7.html>.———. “Gillard v Abbott on the Slipper Affair.” 10 Oct. 2012. 12 Sep. 2016 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-09/gillard-vs-abbott-on-the-slipper-affair/4303618>.United Nations Women. Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Participation. 2017. 1 Mar. 2018 <http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures>.Van Acker, Elizabeth. Different Voices: Gender and Politics in Australia. Melbourne: MacMillan Education Australia, 1999.Wright, Tony. “No Handmaids Here! Liberal Women Launch Their Red Resistance.” Sydney Morning Herald 17 Sep. 2018. 20 Jan. 2019 <https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/no-handmaids-here-liberal-women-launch-their-red-resistance-20180917-p504bm.html>.Wong, Penny. “Marriage Equality Plebiscite.” Interview Transcript. The Project 1 Aug. 2017. 1 Mar. 2018 <https://www.pennywong.com.au/transcripts/the-project-2/>.

It is now almost 15 years since the world witnessed one of modern history’s most devastating terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. Despite all its promises, the so called ‘War on Terror’ failed to combat a growing tide of violent extremism. 11 years after the US led offensive on Iraq in 2003, the rise of terrorism by non-state actors in the Arab world presents a significant concern to international security and world peace. Since 2001 Australian Muslims have consistently been called upon to openly reject terrorism committed by a minority of Muslims who adhere to an extreme interpretation of Islamic doctrine that justifies attacks on civilians both in the Arab world and abroad.The responsibility placed on Australian Muslims to actively reject terrorism comes from both official channels through government funded programs under the banner of counter terrorism and countering violent extremism and the public through the popular media. Yet, Muslims in Australia who do speak out against religiously motivated non-state terrorism find themselves in an impossible bind. They are expected to speak out as representatives of a fragmented, heterogeneous and diverse mix of communities and ideologies. Often, when they do speak out, they are viewed with suspicion and presumed to be ‘apologists for Islam’ whose claim to tolerance and the peaceful nature of Islamic doctrine purposefully ignores its true nature. Such responses render these spokespersons illegitimate- both as representatives of Muslim communities and as Australian citizens. The question “Why don’t moderate Muslims speak out against terrorism?” is often raised in the popular media in response to attacks against Western interests by jihadi groups. On 15 August 2014 an article in the Daily Telegraph by well-known conservative journalist Piers Akerman raised the question in relation to the Australian government’s announcement of increased powers for law enforcement agencies to deal with the issue of returned foreign fighters who had joined the Islamic State’s conflict in Iraq and Syria. The article, titled “It’s Time for Muslim Leaders to Speak Up” reiterated much of the construction of the silent Muslim majority that has pervaded the Australian popular media since 2001. Akerman states: “They [the Australian government] should be making it clear to Australian Muslims that they expect their leaders to speak out more vehemently against those who groom terrorists from the among the young and stupidly impressionable in their communities”. While he continues by acknowledging that Muslims in Australia are diverse in ethnicity and religious views and that the vast majority of Muslims do not support terrorism, he concludes by stating that “the few are costing the majority of Australians millions in security and those who enjoy leadership titles must accept that some responsibility attaches to their position or they should abdicate in favour of individuals who are prepared to consent to the obligations inherent in their station” (Piers Akerman). The same sentiments were expressed by Pia Ackerman in the Australian who wrote that “AUSTRALIA’S Muslim leaders need to speak out against Islamic State terrorists or risk losing their credibility and ability to reach young men attracted to the extremists’ cause” (Pia Akerman).Other responses in the popular media present a different argument. In an article titled “The Moderate Muslims Are Talking If Only You Will Listen”, David Penberthy of the Herald Sun cites examples of Muslim Australians who are speaking out including the case of prominent Sydney GP Jamal Rifi whose condemnation of terrorist activities in the Arab world has earned him death threats from members of the Islamic State (Penberthy). Yet, as Penberthy rightly acknowledges the questions “where are the moderates? Where are the decent Muslims? Are there any? Why aren’t they speaking out?” are still the most salient questions being asked of Muslims in the public sphere. For Australian Muslims at least, they are questions that pervade their everyday lives. It is these questions for example that leads Muslim women who wear the tradition head covering or hijab to challenge media representations of themselves as complicit actors in terrorism by acting as alternative sources of truth for curious co-workers and members of the broader community (see Aly, A Study).Muslim women who do not wear the hijab can face even more barriers to speaking out because they do not pass the test of ‘legitimate’ Muslims: those who fit the stereotype of the angry bearded male and the oppressed female shrouded in black. This author, who has in the past written about extremist interpretations of Islam, has faced condemnation from anti- Islamic groups who questioned her authenticity as a Muslim. By speaking out as a Muslim against the violent actions of some Muslims in other parts of the world, I was being accused of misinformed. Ironically, those who are vehemently anti- Islamic espouse the very same ideological world view and interpretations of Islamic doctrine as those Muslims they claim to oppose. Both groups rely on an extreme and minority version of Islam that de-legitimises more mainstream, nuanced interpretations and both groups claim legitimacy to the truth that Islam can only ever be violent, aggressive and oppositional.It is not just in the public and media discourses that Muslims who speak out against terrorism face being branded illegitimate. The policy response to home-grown terrorism — acts of violence carried out by Australian citizens within Australia — has, albeit inadvertently, created the conditions through which Muslims must verify their legitimate claims to being Australian by participating in the governments’ program of counter terrorism.In the wake of the 2005 London bombings, the Prime Minister met with selected representatives from Muslim communities to discuss the development of a Muslim Community Reference Group. The Group was charged with assisting the Australian Government by acting as an advisory group and by working with Muslim communities “promote harmony, mutual understanding and Australian values and to challenge violence, ignorance and rigid thinking”. This was iterated through a Statement of Principles that committed members of Muslim communities to pursue “moderate’ Islam (Prime Minister, “Meeting”). The very need for a Muslim summit and for the development of a Statement of Principles (later endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments, COAG), sends a lucid message to the Australian public that not only are Australian Muslims responsible for terrorism but that they also have the capacity to prevent or minimise the threat of an attack in Australia.In 2005, the policy response to terrorism took its first step towards linking the social harmony agenda to the securitisation of the state in the form of the National Action Plan to Build Social Cohesion, Harmony and Security. The stated purpose of the National Action Plan (NAP) notably conflated national security with social cohesion and harmony and clearly indicated an understanding that violent extremism could be addressed through programs designed to reinforce Australian values, social harmony, interfaith understanding and tolerance: “The purpose of this National Action Plan (NAP) is to reinforce social cohesion, harmony and support the national security imperative in Australia by addressing extremism, the promotion of violence and intolerance…”(Commonwealth of Australia, National Action Plan).Between 2005 and 2010, the National Action Plan provided funding for 83 community based projects deemed to meet the Plan’s criteria of addressing extremism and the promotion of violence. Of the 83 projects funded, 33 were undertaken by associations that identified as Muslim or Islamic (some applicants received funding for more than one project or in more than one round). The remaining 50 organisations funded included universities and vocational training organisations (4), multicultural social services or migrant resource centres (14), interfaith groups (3), local councils (4), ethnic organisations (specifically African, East African, Afghan, Hazara, Arabic and Pakistani), sporting clubs (4) and miscellaneous social clubs and service providers. The kinds of projects that were funded were predominantly aimed at Muslim communities, most notably youth and women, and the provision of services, programs, education, information and dialogue. Sixty five of the projects funded were explicitly aimed at Muslim communities and identified their target groups variously as: ‘African Muslim’; ‘Muslim youth’; ‘Muslim women’; ‘at risk Muslims’; ‘young Muslims’; ‘Iraqi Muslims’; ‘Lebanese Muslims’ and ‘young Muslim men from Arabic speaking backgrounds’. Seven projects were described as involving ‘interfaith’ elements, though a further 13 projects described some form of interaction between Muslim and non-Muslim communities and groups through activities such as sport, dialogue, fashion parades, workshops, art and craft programs, music workshops. 29 projects involved some form of leadership training for Muslims: youth, women and young men. Overall, the range of projects funded under the National Action Plan in the five years of its operation reflect a policy approach that specifically identifies Muslim communities (including ethno specific and new and emerging Muslim communities) as the primary target of Australia’s broader security strategy.The National Action Plan was succeeded by the Building Community Resilience (BCR) Program. Despite the positive steps taken in attempting to move the BCR program away from the social harmony policy agenda, it continued to reflect an underlying preoccupation with the assumptions of its predecessor. Between 2011- 2013 it funded 51 community based projects. Of these, 7 projects were undertaken by Islamic or Muslim associations. Ten of the projects specifically target Muslims or Muslim communities, with 6 of these being Muslim youth leadership and/or mentoring programs. The remaining 4 Muslim focussed projects include a project designed to encourage Muslim youth to build positive connections with the broader community, the development of a Common Curriculum Framework for teaching Islamic Studies in Australian Islamic primary and secondary schools, a project to address misconceptions about Islam and promote cultural understanding and the production of a DVD for schools to address misperceptions about Muslims. Notably, only one project specifically targets white supremacist violent extremism. The Australian governments’ progressive policy approach to countering violent extremism at home has disproportionately focussed on the Australian Muslim communities. In an environment where Muslims are viewed with suspicion and as having the primary responsibility as both perpetrators and gatekeepers of terroristic ideologies, Muslims in diaspora communities have been forced to make legitimate claims to their innocence. In order to do this they are required to reaffirm their commitment to Australian values, not just by speaking out against terrorism but also by participating in programs that are based on false assumptions about the nature of Muslim citizenship in Australia and the premise that Muslim Australians are, both individually and collectively, opposed to such values by virtue of their religious affiliation. In 2014 and in response to growing concerns about the number of Australians travelling to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State, the government made a bold move by declaring its intention to overhaul existing terror laws. The new laws would reverse the onus of proof on those who travelled to certain countries deemed to be terrorist hotspots to prove that they were not partaking in armed conflict or terrorist training. They would also give more powers to law enforcement and surveillance agencies by lowering the threshold of arrest without a warrant. The announcement of the new laws by the Prime Minister coincided with the news that the Government would abandon its controversial plans to drop section 18c from the Racial Discrimination Act which makes it unlawful to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people" because of their race or ethnicity" (Aston). The announcement was made under the guise of a press conference on terror laws and inferred that the back down on the Racial Discrimination Act reforms were a measure to win over the Muslim communities cooperation on the new terror laws. Referring to a somewhat curious notion of “team Australia”, the Prime Minister stated “I want to work with the communities of our country as team Australia here” (Aston). “Team Australia” has since become the Government’s narrative frame for garnering public support for its proposed new terrorism laws. Echoing his predecessor John Howard, whose narrative of Australian values pervaded much of the political discourse during his term in office, Prime Minister Abbott stated in a radio interview that "everyone has got to put this country, its interests, its values and its people first, and you don't migrate to this country unless you want to join our team". He followed this statement by emphasising that "What we need to do is to encourage the moderate mainstream to speak out" (Cox).Shortly after the release of a horrific image on social media showing Australian jihadists proudly flaunting the severed heads of their victims, the Australian government reacted with an even bolder move to introduce legislation that would see the government cancelling the welfare payments of persons “identified by national security agencies as being involved in extremist conduct.” According to the Government the reforms would “enable the Department of Human Services to cancel a person’s welfare payment if it receives advice that a person has been assessed as a serious threat to Australia’s national security.”(Prime Minister of Australia) The move was criticised by several groups including academics who argued that it would not only alienate the already disenfranchised Muslim communities, but could also result in greater radicalisation (Ireland). In response to the raft of new measures perceived to be targeting Muslim communities, Australian Muslims took measured steps to voice their opposition through written statements and media releases stating that, among other things: These proposals come in the same style as those which have preceded [sic] since the Howard era. An alleged threat is blown out of all proportion as the pretext, further "tightening" of the laws is claimed necessary and rushed through, without proper national debate or community consultation. The reality of the alleged threat is also exposed by the lack of correspondence between the official 'terror threat' level, which has remained the same since 2001, and the hysterical rhetoric from government ministers. (ABC News, "Australian Muslims")Australian Muslim leaders also boycotted government meetings including a planned meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the new laws. The Prime Minister promptly branded the boycott “foolish” (ABC News, "Tony Abbott") yet refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the claims made in the media statements and messages by Muslim organisations that prompted the boycotts. As Australian Muslims continue to grapple with ways to legitimize their claims to citizenship, the developing discourse on national security and terrorism continues to define them as the objects of terror. Notably, the media discourse is showing some signs of accommodating the views of Muslim Australians who have found some space in the public sphere. Recent media reporting on terror activities in the Middle East has given some consideration to the voices of Muslim leaders who openly oppose violent extremism. Yet Muslims in Australia are still battling for legitimacy. Those who speak out against the hijacking of their religion by a minority who espouse a rigid and uncompromising ideology in order to justify violence often find themselves the subjects of intense scrutiny. From within their communities they are seen to be mouth pieces for an unfair and unjust government agenda that targets Muslims as objects of fear. From outside their communities they are seen to be apologists for Islam whose authenticity should be questioned if not denied. Attempts by Muslim Australians to have their voices heard through political practices that define the very nature of democracy including peaceful demonstrations, boycotts and written statements have not been taken seriously. As a result, Muslim voices in Australia are deemed illegitimate regardless of the forms or platforms through which they seek to be heard. ReferencesABC News. “Australian Muslims Denounce Proposed 'Anti-Terror' Laws”. 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