QUT Centre for Justice member, Associate Professor Jodi Death, has delivered impact through her involvement in a range of media, publications and events incorporating her research into child sexual abuse in institutional care and in identifying and responding to the voices and needs of survivors.
Media: “Educate teachers to raise alarm”
Dr Death, has provided media commentary on a call for mandatory and improved training for teachers in recognising and responding to student grooming in Queensland schools. Dr Death commented that the existing system of training is inadequate where “even health teachers … only get about three hours training on sex and relationships,”
“The people that are in charge of curriculum delivery on sex and relationships are having minimal training.”
Dr Death noted that early intervention is crucial to help teachers identify child grooming signs in their early stages.
“The sooner you can detect a problem, and the sooner you can provide positive intervention and positive belief for
survivors … you can minimise the damage that has occurred regardless of the … extent of the sexual harm,” she said.
Read the full article here
Seminar: ‘Perpetrator networks as a Challenge for Scientific Studies on the Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse’ – Heidelberg, Germany
Dr Death was recently hosted by SOCLES (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies) and ISA (Institute for Social Work) for a 2 day seminar on ‘Perpetrator networks as a Challenge for Scientific Studies on the Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse’ in Heidelberg, Germany.
Here’s an excerpt from the press release of that seminar:
“It quickly became clear that, particularly in English-speaking countries, perpetrator networks in the field of child sexual abuse are an established subject of social science research. For example, a research team from Australia reported on perpetrator networks of Catholic clergy (with connections to Anglican clergy) that have been established for decades and also extend into the non-church sphere. In this context, findings from sociological network theory and criminological analysis of organised crime were further developed on an empirical basis. Particularly impressive was the elaborate mapping of local connections between crime scenes, perpetrators and victims, for example for the Australian state of Victoria.”
Research: ‘Victim-survivors’ perspectives on the reintegration of people with convictions for sexual offending’
Dr Death was also involved in the final report of research funded by the Criminology Research Advisory Council titled “Victim-survivors’ perspectives on the reintegration of people with convictions for sexual offending”. This first-in-Australia study focused specifically on victim-survivors’ perspectives, and has revealed strong support for a range of post-custodial measures for people with convictions for sexual offending, provided those measures reduce reoffending and are matched by appropriate support for victim-survivors. Jodi was in a research team with Professor Kelly Richards, Dr Michael Chataway, Associate Professor Chris Emzin all of QUT, and Carol Ronken of Bravehearts Foundation and Dr Rebekah Chapman formerly of Bravehearts Foundation.
Read more here
Book: The Public Child: Media Power, Strategic Silencing and Children’s Rights in Australia
Jodi has co-edited a book titled, The Public Child: Media Power, Strategic Silencing and Children’s Right in Australia.
“This edited book examines the cultural construction of the “public child” and its impact on children’s rights in Australia.
The “public child” refers to a real child or groups of children whose lives have attracted media attention— either because concerns have been raised about their safety or because they have been identified as threats to others.”
This book was co-edited with Camilla Nelson and Denise Buiten .
About:
Dr Jodi Death’s primary research interest is in child sexual abuse in institutional care. This includes identifying and responding to the voices and needs of survivors and developing an understanding of historic paedophile networks. This work builds on Jodi’s PhD which examined the role of forgiveness in ways that churches are responding to child sexual abuse by church leaders. As part of an interdisciplinary team, Jodi has completed work for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child sexual abuse considering children’s perspectives of safety in Out of Home Care. Jodi’s more recent work considers the ways in which the Family Law Court of Australia manages and responds to allegations of child sexual abuse in custody disputes.
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