Publication: Centre for Justice Research Report Series, Vol1/2019

Posted by Brigid on 8 November, 2019

QUT Centre for Justice launched its first edition of the Centre for Justice Research Report Series. This series will publish reports up to 6 times a year on current research relating to crime and justice.

This first edition outlines the findings of the ARC-funded research of Professor Kerry Carrington and her multi-country team of researchers into how women’s police stations in Argentina have helped to prevent domestic family violence

Read the full Research Report titled, “The Role of Women’s Police Stations in Responding to and Preventing Gender Violence: Buenos Aires, Argentina: Final Report of Field Research” here.

International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy ranks 14th

Posted by Brigid on 29 October, 2019

Last week was International Open Access Week 2019 (October 21-27). As an open access publication the Journal is committed to democratising quality knowledge production and the dissemination of criminological research. The Journal’s achievements in open access are reflected in the latest Scimago journal rankings. Of the top 50 open access law journals ranked internationally, the International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy ranks 14th. The Journal is ranked as the top open access law journal in the Pacific Region. The Scimago Journal and Country Rank is a publicly available portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus® database (Elsevier B.V.). Citation data is drawn from over 34,100 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers and country performance metrics from 239 countries worldwide.

Alignment to open access practices in academic publishing has not been an arbitrary consideration and compliments emerging global practices and trends in academic publishing. Open scholarship and open access publishing maximises the sharing of knowledge. For the author the benefits of publishing in open access include: increased citation and impact; improved visibility in terms of public engagement and interest, and; the reduction of prohibitive publishing barriers related to costs. Universities benefit from wider dissemination of research and by access to a wider range of educational resources.

Achieving best practice in open access is a cumulative result of the Journal’s ongoing support from QUT Library, the QUT Faculty of Law, QUT’s Centre for Justice and the sustained attention to good practice from the editorial team, authors, reviewers and the the International Editorial Board

Engaging men in the Pacific in violence prevention

Posted by Brigid on 9 October, 2019

Photo credit: UN Women/Natalie Garrison

Associate Professor Michael Flood leading discussion at the Pacific Regional Dialogue on Engaging Men in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls (Fiji)
Photo credit: UN Women/Natalie Garrison

In countries throughout the Pacific, there is growing interest in the roles men can play in stopping violence against women. At the Pacific Regional Dialogue on Engaging Men in the Prevention of Violence Against Women, Associate Professor Michael Flood contributed to the facilitation of the first three days of the workshop. He focused on how to engage men in primary prevention, exploring international best practice in this work and the practical and political challenges of engaging men.

The Pacific Regional Dialogue on Engaging Men in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls gathered more than 40 participants from seven Pacific countries’ governments, civil society organizations, faith-based organisations, and communities of male advocates for women’s human rights. The Regional Dialogue was formally opened by Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete. Participants came from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

The Regional Dialogue, led by the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women, was a collaboration between the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) and the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office. It took place over 16–20 September 2019 in Sigatoka, Fiji. More information on the event is available in this media release.

‘Toxic masculinity’ at GOMA

Posted by Brigid on 8 October, 2019

GOMA Talks: Toxic Masculinity discussion, held during the ‘Quilty’ exhibition / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane / September 2019 / Image courtesy: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / Photography: Chloe Callistemon

Associate Professor Michael Flood was one of the panellists in a recent event on ‘toxic masculinity’ at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane, on September 23. The event was hosted by ABC Radio National host Paul Barclay (Big Ideas), and featured Michael Flood, Catharine Lumby, Joe Williams, and Tarang Chawla.

Flood contributed to a lively discussion on ‘toxic masculinity’. What does the term mean, and is it useful? What impact do dominant norms of manhood have, both among boys and men and those around them?

About 360 people attended the event, across four locations, and another 304 viewed the live stream online during the session. Audience members were able to send in questions and comments live as the event proceeded, with 149 people doing so. Twitter reach during the program included 68,000+ accounts and 295,000+ impressions. A recording of the event is available on YouTube.

Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series

Posted by Brigid on 6 September, 2019

We welcome Dr Laura Vitis as the new co-editor of the Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series, replacing Dr Monique Mann who is leaving QUT. Laura joins our current co-editor, Associate Professor Michael Flood.

The Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series provide short, accessible accounts of topics and issues related to crime and justice. This open access publication features research undertaken by staff, students and affiliated researchers for the QUT School of Justice (formerly Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Research Centre), and are blind peer reviewed.

Our first Briefing Paper was released in July and is titled, “The Case for Decriminalisation: Sex Work and the Law in Queensland”. A copy of the Briefing Paper can be found here.

We welcome Laura to this new role.

Special Issue – International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy

Posted by Brigid on 1 September, 2019

A new issue of International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy is now available. This special issue Towards Global Green Criminological Dialogues: Voices from the Americas and Europe is a timely publication which strives to present diverse voices to support the goal of Southern criminology to level inequalities in the valuing of criminological knowledge in the Global North and the Global South. Guest editors David Rodríguez Goyes, Ragnhild Sollund and Nigel South present six articles and three book reviews (most co-written by Latin American and ‘Northern’ authors) with an aim to “create ‘Global Green Criminological Dialogues’ rather than just reproduce ‘voices from Latin America’ “.

Highlights include Yaneth Katia Apaza Huanca’s interpretation of Pachamama (sacred Mother Earth) in Non-Western Epistemology and the Understanding of the Pachamama (Environment) Within the World(s) of the Aymara Identity; and Ragnhild Sollund, Ángela Maldonado and Claudia Brieva Rico’s analysis of the global measures applied to counteract climate change, and the effects these measures have on local peripheral communities in The Norway–Colombia Agreement to Protect Rainforest and Reduce Global Warming: Success or Failure? In the article Between ‘Conservation’ and ‘Development’: The Construction of ‘Protected Nature’ and the Environmental Disenfranchisement of Indigenous Communities, David R. Goyes and Nigel South discuss hidden intentions behind conservation projects, arguing that development projects and conservation projects often share the effect of environmentally disenfranchising Indigenous communities.

Any enquiries regarding the Journal should be forwarded to Tracy Creagh, Journal Manager – t.creagh@qut.edu.au

Event: Making a killing: corporate rationality, global inequality and collateral murder

Posted by Brigid on 27 August, 2019

We were fortunate to welcome Professor Anthony Collins from La Trobe University to present an internal seminar on “Making a killing: corporate rationality, global inequality and collateral murder”.

Anthony’s presentation rethinks the mass murder of 346 people in two related incidents in the past year. It is part of a larger project exploring how we understand violence and the consequences of these conceptualisations. Despite the emergence of a compelling body of evidence showing exactly how these killings occurred, we can safely assume that none of those responsible for these horrific deaths will be prosecuted. One reason for this is that the deaths do not fit with how we commonly imagine homicide, criminality, or even human agency. Another is the networks of global power and inequality that divide the perpetrators and the victims. A third is the social cultures that shaped the thoughts and actions of those responsible, and how deeply these homicidal organisational practices are normalised in the political and economic values of the Western world. This case study thus leads us to reconceptualise the very idea of violence, and to argue that a social justice approach requires that we articulate a theory of violence that moves away from both common-sense and legalistic understandings, and towards a more critical understanding of harm. This in turn troubles the easy distinction between perpetrators and ordinary folks who are just busy living their lives, in a way that increasingly implicates us all in systems of violence.

As an African of colonial extraction, Anthony’s research and community engagement is primarily located in Southern Africa, where they work with organisations involved with violence prevention, and support for survivors of intimate and gendered violence. This interest has also included developing new courses on Violence, and Working with Survivors of Violence, in addition to teaching in more traditional areas such Victimology, Gender Studies and Qualitative Research Methods. Anthony is currently the co-ordinator of the Crime, Justice and Legal Studies Honours programme at La Trobe University, and honorary professor at Rhodes University and Durban University of Technology in South Africa.

First Article: Law, Technology and Humans

Posted by Brigid on 22 August, 2019

Law, Technology and Humans is an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing original, innovative research concerned with the human and humanity of law and technology. Supported by the Faculty of Law, the Journal was launched earlier this year alongside the QUT Law Lab and is one of four QUT-supported scholarly journals.

Ahead of the inaugural issue scheduled for later this year, Law, Technology and Humans has published its first article. Towards the Uberisation of Legal Practice considers ‘NewLaw’, a new business model in the delivery of legal services. Emerita Professor of Law at the ANU College of Law Margaret Thornton discusses the key features of NewLaw entities and the ramifications for individual lawyers, with some interesting perspectives in regards to gender and age. Online first at https://lthj.qut.edu.au/article/view/1277

Follow Journal announcements on Twitter @LawTechHum

Event: Thirty years after Fitzgerald: The unfinished business of Queensland’s sex work policy

Posted by Brigid on 13 August, 2019

In July the CJSDRC launched the first of its briefing papers, The Case for Decriminalisation: Sex Work and the Law in QLD’.

This month the paper will be re-launched at Queensland State Parliament,by Centre Director Melissa Bull, at an event sponsored by Peter Russo, State Member for Toohey. If you are interested in reading and hearing more about decriminalisation, join the Respect Inc and #DecrimQLD in Brisbane Parliament House for a solutions-focused Symposium on the unfinished business of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Report. The Fitzgerald Report recommended significant changes to prevent the continued misuse of police powers. Thirty years later sex work remains in the Criminal Code. At this Symposium you will have the opportunity to hear the concerns and solutions from experts in the field of sex work policy. More about the event can be found below.

Thirty years after Fitzgerald: The unfinished business of Queensland’s sex work policy
Sex industry policy in Queensland remains unfinished business. Thirty years after the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry found excessive levels of police corruption and misuse of powers over the sex industry, 80% of sex workers in Queensland are still subject to police regulation and monitoring.

In response to the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the Prostitution Act 1999 (Qld) introduced a brothel licensing system but left the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) intact. The 1999 legislation criminalises sex workers working in pairs and massage parlours, and regulates only 20 brothels. Standard practices such as hiring a receptionist, texting another worker when a client arrives and leaves, are illegal. Police powers include immunity when posing as clients undercover. Police now actively prosecute sex workers for implementing safety strategies, with charges up by 126%, and for incorrect wording in sex work advertising, with charges up 450%. The ‘criminals’ are predominantly women over 30; they are fined up to $6,000. Access to justice is impeded. The unintended consequence of the lack of action on this issue is that basic safety strategies are criminalised. Everyday, sex workers in Queensland must choose between working safely or legally.

The evidence is that decriminalisation is the best model of sex industry regulation. It is a system that would bring all sex industry businesses under Queensland’s existing robust business and industrial regulation. Repealing outdated laws would finish the work of Fitzgerald and provide safer working conditions for sex workers, free from fear of arrest.
This symposium is sponsored by Peter Russo MP, State Member for Toohey.

Photo ID and a ticket are essential for Parliament House events.

Janelle Fawkes