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Undoing an activist response: feminism and the Australian government's domestic violence policy

University of Sydney, Australia

After nine years of socially conservative government in Australia, national domestic violence policy has shifted its focus from a ‘ womencentred’ and gender-based analytic framework to one that favours the family and reflects individualized, relational explanations of this crucial social policy issue. In exploring this issue, first this paper discusses what is meant by feminism in this context, some of the implications arising out of competing ideas amongst feminist activists in Australia and how feminism drove and influenced national policy. Second, through an examination of the current Australian government's efforts and decisions in relation to its only significant policy response to domestic violence, ‘Partnerships Against Domestic Violence’, this paper explores the implications of the socially conservative approach of the Howard Coalition Government and why it appears anti-feminist. Through a brief analysis of a national public education campaign launched in 2004, allocation of recent funding and the government's broad political approach to women's policy practice and implementation, questions are raised about the future of a policy that ignores the relationships between domestic violence and gender relations.

Key Words: feminist frameworks • social conservatism • social policy • women's citizenship

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