Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson outlines her research findings.

Deakin's Centre for Rural and Regional Law and Justice recently hosted a seminar for Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson who outlined a number of key findings from years of extensive activity and research in the field. 

Where Education meets Health, Law and Justice

An Aboriginal woman living in a remote area is 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence than their white peers (Gordon et al, 2002).

The nature of that violence is multi-layered, complex and incorporates a history of intergenerational loss, grief, trauma in a context of the impact of colonisation. This has led to what can be described as a reticulated pipeline/loop that men and women may find themselves caught in or are in danger of becoming enmeshed in. 

On Dr Roslyn (Rose) Carnes' invitation, Professor Atkinson delivered to a symposium at Deakin’s Geelong Waterfront Campus on Saturday 28 October 2015. She spoke about her experiences with children, women, men, families and communities in dealing with intergenerational violence and trauma. Professor Atkinson put out a call to all those involved in working with family violence, to recognise the unique nature of intergenerational violence for Indigenous peoples. She also challenged the audience to remember the small number of children and families who can fall off the edge of service delivery because they are ‘too hard to reach', service workers are burnt out or under-resourced or not skilled to work with that deep level of trauma.  

Professor Atkinson has been working in this field for around 30 years and Deakin Law School and the Centre for Rural Regional Law and Justice have been fortunate to have forged a strong working relationship with her.

To watch a video and download event presentation slides, please visit the Centre for Rural and Regional Law and Justice website.

On the invitation of Professor Atkinson, Deakin Law School's Dr Roslyn (Rose) Carnes has been involved in evaluation of her We Al-li Educaring program in the Alice Springs Correction Centre in September 2015. Read more about We Al-li Educaring program.