Our research and projects

La Trobe University is partnering with Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) to evaluate the Consent and Respectful Education (CaRE) schools program, a sexual violence prevention initiative delivered to students from Years 5 to 10 across Tasmania. While prevention education is widely delivered in schools, there is limited evidence about how these programs effectiveness.

ReGEN has developed sector-leading surveys for primary and secondary school students. This project will pilot these surveys with schools participating in the CaRE program, supporting SASS to strengthen their program and contribute to improved, evidence-based approaches to school-based sexual violence prevention.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Freda Haylett, Felicity Young; in collaboration with Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS)

Living @ La Trobe:

This project is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between ReGEN and the Prevention and Inclusion team at La Trobe University. The project involves developing and implementing an audit tool to understand the cultural and practical enablers of sexual violence, mental ill health and gender-based violence for students living on campus. In 2025, the project will involve conducting focus groups in each La Trobe University residence across Bundoora and Bendigo, and interviews with key staff across La Trobe to collect data on first-hand experiences of their work in preventing and responding to sexual violence. The project will develop recommendations for the university to improve the sexual violence prevention and response. In 2026, we will continue to work with the Prevention and Inclusion professional team to develop programs to help meet the recommendations arising from the audit.

Research Team: Dr Jessica Ison, Dr Samantha Marshall; in collaboration with the Prevention and Inclusion Team, La Trobe University

Women's empowerment and safety through education and action (WEACT)

Young women on campus experience unacceptably high rates of rape by male acquaintances. More than 50% of Australian university students have experienced sexual harassment, and 7% have been sexually assaulted in university settings. The Canadian Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) program reduced rape and attempted rape on campus by 50% (Senn et al., 2015) and sustained two years post-training (Senn et al., 2017). The WEACT project aims to assess the feasibility of implementing the EAAA sexual assault resistance education program into the Australian University context (recruitment, retention, fidelity); explore the acceptability of resistance education (and evaluation methods) for female students; improve student knowledge and self-efficacy of sexual assault; and reduce the incidence of sexual assault/rape experienced by students.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Jessica Ison, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike, Felicity Young, Emeritus Prof. Angela Taft; in collaboration with Dr Elli Darwinkel and Fiona Marshall (Monash University), Prof. Charlene Senn (University of Windsor, Canada).

RESPOND: Community action to address alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence in the Bendigo region

This project is building community capacity to prevent and respond to alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence in the Greater Bendigo region. Through multi-stakeholder participatory action and co-design, the project is developing and evaluating a community-based program that can support the diverse Bendigo community to prevent and appropriately respond to alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence. In 2022, the team conducted a concept mapping exercise with stakeholders. A World Café forum followed this in the Bendigo region. The team also undertook a scoping review on alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Jessica Ison, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with Dr Jacqui Theobald, A/Professor Anne-Marie Laslett (CAPR), Dr Alex Donaldson, Dr Elena Wilson, La Trobe University; Dr Ingrid Wilson (Singapore Institute of Technology); in partnership with the Centre Against Sexual Assault Central Victoria

Alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence across Victoria

Alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence is a pervasive issue that can have lasting impacts on victim-survivors. However, it is under-researched in Australia and internationally. Further, there is little knowledge of how victim-survivors experience the service system and where improvements could be made. This project is addressing this evidence gap in service provision. Through interviews with key stakeholders in the service system, the project maps out where improvements could be made to ensure victim-survivors are supported and cared for.

Research Team: Dr Jessica Ison, Professor Leesa Hooker, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with Dr Jacqui Theobald, A/Professor Anne-Marie Laslett (CARP), Dr Alex Donaldson, Dr Elena Wilson.

Victimisation and perpetration of alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence

Alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence (AODFSV), often called “drink spiking”, is an under-researched and emerging area of public concern. AODFSV involves sexual activity without consent due to the administration of alcohol and/or other drugs. This project aims to generate new knowledge on victimisation and perpetration of alcohol and other drug-facilitated sexual violence. We have used a qualitative research design involving content analysis of social media posts on Reddit relating to AODFSV to assess prevalence, victim experiences, perpetrator traits and community attitudes.

Research Team: Dr Jessica Ison, Professor Leesa Hooker, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike, Felicity Young; in collaboration with Dr Benjamin Riordan, Dr Gabriel Caluzzi (CAPR), Dr Jacqui Theobald, Dr Elena Wilson, Dr Ingrid Wilson (Singapore Institute of Technology), A/Professor Anne-Marie Laslett (CAPR), Erin Santamaria (La Trobe University).

LGBTQ+ communities and DFSV

ReGEN proudly partners with the Australian Centre in Sex, Health and Society on multiple projects conducted by and with LGBTQ+ communities on DFSV. Currently, we are partnered on:

Crossing Lines - A study investigating unwanted sexual behaviours against LGBTQ+ people, aiming to generate actionable knowledge and focusing on the social forces, risk factors, and characteristics of those who use sexual violence

Respectful Connections: - A project researching transgender women’s experiences of technology-facilitated gender-based violence

Pleasure-centred sexual safety -  Moving beyond risk-focused approaches to sexual safety and instead celebrating sexual agency and pleasure for neurodivergent women, and trans and gender diverse people in Victoria.

LGBTQ+ sexual violence evidence review

The existing research on sexual violence has primarily concentrated on instances where cisgender, heterosexual men have perpetrated sexual violence against cisgender, heterosexual women, with knowledge about LGBTQ+ people underdeveloped. However, there is a growing body of literature examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ people. No previous review has critically synthesised both quantitative and qualitative scholarly studies on adult LGBTQ+ sexual violence globally. We conducted a scoping review of current research examining the prevalence, perpetration, correlations, and contexts of adult LGBTQ+ sexual violence. Additionally, we explored help-seeking behaviours, disclosures, and impacts associated with these experiences.

Research Team: Dr Jessica Ison, in collaboration with Sophie Hindes and A/Professor Bianca Fileborn (University of Melbourne)

La Trobe University is collaborating with the City of Whittlesea and DPV Health to evaluate the Step Up for Equality project, which engages men as allies in the prevention of gender-based violence. The project focuses on addressing gender inequality and harmful gender norms to support safer, more respectful communities.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the evaluation will assess how Step Up for Equality builds participants’ knowledge, skills, and confidence to promote gender equity, as well as the effectiveness of training, Communities of Practice, and cross-sector collaboration. Findings will inform program refinement, support sustainability, and strengthen future gender equity and violence prevention initiatives.
Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike,Dr Samantha Marshall; Dr Innocent Mwatsiya, Felicity Young; In collaboration with  City of Whittlesea and DPV Health

La Trobe University has partnered with Thorne Harbour Health and the Centre Against Sexual Assault Central Victoria (CASA-CV) to co-produce a survivor-informed feedback model for improving sexual violence services. Sexual violence is prevalent in Australia, yet barriers exist to some victim-survivors using and continuing to receive sexual violence services. Rural sexual violence service users and members of the LGBTQ+ community will work with the research team to identify the best, most effective approach to ensure that service user feedback is heard and acted upon.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Jessica Ison, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike, Felicity Young; in collaboration with Dr Jacqui Theobald, Professor Adam Bourne and Dr Shane Worrell (ARCSHS), Dr Juliet Watson (RMIT University), Centre Against Sexual Assault – Central Victoria and Thorne Harbour Health.

The aim of this research is to critically examine the current reporting pathways through sport for women who have experienced GBV in sport in Australia, understand how this aligns with best practice in responding to disclosures of GBV, and consider ways to strengthen these reporting pathways with Australian women in sport. The outcomes of this project will include raising awareness of the current policies and practices in responding to disclosures of gender-based violence against women in sports and establishing how these can be strengthened through a woman- and victim/survivor-centred and co-designed framework for response and redress. Collaborators include the Sport Integrity Australia, Sexual Assault Services Victoria, Professional Footballers Association and Sport and Recreation Victoria.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with Dr Natalie Galea (University of Melbourne) and Dr Aurelie Pankowiak (Victoria University).

This project aims to evaluate the Women Leaders in Sport Program delivered by the Australian Sports Commission, which has been funded by the Office for Women for the last decade. The evaluation results will feed into an agenda for future programs run by the Australian Sports Commission.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with Dr Erica Randle and Monique Hanley (La Trobe University).

In collaboration with La Trobe University's Centre for Human Security and Social Change (CHSSC), we have established expertise in researching and developing resources to support the health systems to respond to violence against women and children in the Asia-Pacific, with an initial focus on Timor-Leste (research led by the Judith Lumley Centre) and recently Papua New Guinea (PNG). This has included curriculum development and evaluation funded by the World Health Organization, Rotary (Timor-Leste only), which has led to a multi-year partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to continue to strengthen the ability of the health systems to respond to sexual and GBV in the Asia-Pacific and Pacific Islands.

Currently, the team is adapting training for healthcare providers to help survivors of GBV in PNG. Lessons from our work previously conducted in Timor-Leste have informed the development of a similar program in PNG. In PNG, the team is currently adapting the WHO healthcare provider curriculum for caring for women subjected to violence for both pre-and in-service delivery. The pre-service delivery includes collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney, which leads PNG's nursing and community health care curriculum review.

To view the research conducted in Timor-Leste, see Supporting health system responses to violence against women and children in Timor-Leste

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, and Felicity Young, in collaboration with A/Professor Lisa Denny, Dr Pamela Kamya and Guilhermina de Araujo (La Trobe University).

The HARMONY study (led by Emeritus Professor Angela Taft at the Judith Lumley Centre) is a randomised controlled trial where GPs, particularly those seeing South Asian refugee and migrant women patients, have been trained to identify, safety plan and refer women to appropriate services. The training was accredited by RACGP, and support was provided by a bilingual advocate/educator and caseworker (from InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence) for the intervention term (1 year). Data was collected from GP medical records for analysis to see an increase in the identification of family violence by GPs and appropriate referrals to family violence services such as inTouch. For more information, see the HARMONY Study.

The HARMONY protocol paper is available here.

Research Team: Emeritus Professor Angela Taft, Dr Bijaya Pokharel, Molly Allen-Leap and Felicity Young; in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Bristol University, Curtin University, World Health Organisation and inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence

This subject was developed at the Judith Luley Centre, led by Dr Jessica Ison. It introduces undergraduate students to the societal, professional and health issues associated with the different forms of family violence. In this subject, students learn to explore the policy and programmatic context surrounding this problem, the current government's MARAM (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management) approach; they are supported to identify and develop skills in best practice responses and learn strategies for the care of self and colleagues. The subject identifies the roles and responsibilities of the systems that assist health care providers in the diverse context of Australian society.

A peer-reviewed evaluation of the subject is available here.

Research Team: Dr Jessica Ison, Professor Leesa Hooker, in collaboration with; Molly Allen-Leap, Emeritus Professor Angela Taft and Professor Michelle Newton (La Trobe University).

The La Trobe–Global Observatory partnership aims to address gender inequality and gender-based violence in sport through research, knowledge exchange, and policy engagement. Knowledge developed through the partnership will be shared with international policymakers, sport leaders, and advocacy networks to inform systemic change. The collaboration will also involve A/Prof Forsdike speaking at the Global Observatory’s Annual Conference, joining the Global Observatory’s Advisory Council and both La Trobe University and the Global Observatory working together to develop evidence to strengthen safe and inclusive sport policy and practice both locally and globally.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with the Global Observatory for Gender Equality and Sport

Domestic violence damages the health of families, particularly children. We aim to make all families safer by generating new knowledge from a world-first trial of resourcing primary care to respond to this chronic social problem through Medicare. This evidence-informed response aims to assist women and their children to seek tailored help, supported by specialists and a peer survivor workforce.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker; in collaboration with The University of Melbourne, University of New South Wales, University of Wollongong and Deakin University.

This project extends extensive research conducted as part of the 2017-2023 NHMRC-funded Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence. The TRANSFORM Project aims to develop and test a trauma and violence-informed ‘model of care’ for health services that are visited by people who may be experiencing family violence. The ReGEN team has been focusing on Maternal and Child Health services and working with rural and metropolitan councils to improve the identification and support of women and children experiencing family violence.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Felicity Young and Dr Catina Adams; in collaboration with the Safer Families CRE (University of Melbourne).

The Cornelia project aims to evaluate the impact of a supportive housing intervention for pregnant and homeless women. Using mixed methods, this project involves completing qualitative interviews with women at three different stages of the intervention (on recent arrival, on exit and six months post). Focus groups will be conducted with Cornelia staff and senior managers of involved organisations (Launch Housing, Housing First). We will also survey women participants at baseline, post, and six-month follow-ups. Royal Women’s Hospital routine data will be collected and analysed to assess obstetric and neonatal outcomes between women using the Cornelia (case) service and all women using the Royal Women’s Hospital services (control) over a two-year period.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Jacqui Theobald; in collaboration with Dr Juliet Watson and Professor Suellen Murray (RMIT University).

The project aims to investigate intersectional inequities in sport participation for girls, women and non-binary people in Queensland by working with them to envision legacies for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Using a co-creation approach this project expects to identify how and what benefits can be achieved through legacy planning that engages with end-users who have historically been marginalised in sport. In doing so, the expected outcomes of the project include the development of evidence-based resources to improve engagement in sport and to build capacity and sustain meaningful change for communities and organisations.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike; in collaboration with A/Professor Adele Pavlidis, Dr Millicent Kennelly and Professor Simone Fullagar (Griffith University), Professor Simon Darcy (University of Technology Sydney) Professor Holly Thorpe (University of Waikato) and Professor David McGillivray (University of the West of Scotland).

There is a spectrum of sexual assault and harassment that a wide diversity of women and girls experience every day in their journeys to, on board and then in the final pathways from public transport to home. These journeys can generate fear and anxiety, which means many women change their behaviours, the routes they take and the level of vigilance they enact. The TramLAB project aims to provide evidence and recommendations for the enhanced safety of women and girls on public transport in Victoria. In 2019, the La Trobe University team (based at the Judith Lumley Centre) conducted 19 stakeholder interviews across seven organisations to explore what initiatives exist to improve women’s safety on public transport and where barriers to change might be present; interviewed 41 female students and staff who have experienced fear in their transport journeys to our Bundoora campus to hear about their experiences;  analysed available data from public transport providers and the police to identify improvements in data collection methods and how trends in women’s safety could be monitored; and undertook an extensive literature review to ascertain what initiatives, evaluations and evidence-based practices exist both nationally and internationally.  From this research, XYX lab team members organised a workshop that brought together women from diverse backgrounds, stakeholders and designers to discuss, imagine and create a vision for a safer public transport journey.  In 2020, the findings from the research, along with further research, were used to develop four practical toolkits for interventions on public transport. For more information, please see the TramLab Project.

Toolkits include:

• Communication Strategy about Sexual Harassment and Equitable Access on Public Transport
• Placemaking Case Study in Darebin City Council
• Public Transport Data Collection
• Training and Awareness for Public Service Providers and their staff

Publications:

• “You’re just constantly on alert”: Women and gender-diverse people’s experiences of sexual violence on public transport.
• More than a dot point: Connecting primary prevention of violence against women and public transport.

Research Team: Emeritus Professor Angela Taft, Professor Leesa Hooker, Dr Jessica Ison, A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike and Molly Allen-Leap; in collaboration with A/Professor Nicole Kalms, A/Professor Gene Bawden, Dr Gill Matthewson, Hannah Korsmeyer and Isabella Webb (Monash University XYX Lab) and Professor Nicola Henry (RMIT University).

The project evaluated Our Watch, the leading organisation for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia. It used multiple innovative mixed methods to understand the complex scope of work Our Watch has undertaken since its inception in 2013.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike and Professor Leesa Hooker, in collaboration with Professor Matthew Nicholson, Professor Daminda Alakahoon, Professor Daswin De Silva, Dr Emma Seal, A/Professor Sue Dyson, Dr Alex Donaldson, Dr Grant O’Sullivan, Donna Burnett (La Trobe University).

This study in Victoria explored women’s safety in sport and recreation through a scoping review of existing research into violence against women in sports and a concept mapping exercise that explored barriers for sports in responding to violence against women and the importance and feasibility of addressing such barriers. Violence against women is a recognised issue in sports, and sports organisations want support to understand and address it appropriately. There are many perceived challenges to overcome at the individual, organisational and socio-cultural levels in sports administration that will require collective and multi-faceted responses. Two areas, in particular, can be targeted: 1) expanding knowledge through research and 2) developing and implementing best practices. This study was foundational for future work in Australia that addresses violence against women in sports.

Research Team: A/Professor Kirsty Forsdike, in collaboration with Dr Grant O’Sullivan, Dr Alex Donaldson, Dr Emma Seal (La Trobe University) and Professor Simone Fullagar (Griffith University).

The RECOVER project aimed to pilot an Australian adaptation of the US-developed Lieberman CPP model of care for abused Victorian women and their children. This included recruiting 30 mothers and their preschool children, delivery of CPP intervention according to family need (average 20–32 weeks), completing a qualitative process evaluation of the feasibility and acceptability of implementing CPP, and piloting the outcome measures. Funding has been provided by an NHMRC, Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) grant and post-doctoral fellowship and by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) (April 2019) for interstate and rural expansion of RECOVER.

The study protocol and the final report are both available.

Research Team: Professor Leesa Hooker, Emeritus Professor Angela Taft; in collaboration with Professor Cathy Humphreys (University of Melbourne), Professor Sarah Wendt (Flinders University) and Emma Toone (Berry Street Childhood Institute).