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Climate emergency and prisons don’t mix
On a 38-degree December day in the middle of the desert, 15 people incarcerated at Alice Springs Correctional Centre used t-shirts and pedestal fans to rip a hole in a ceiling, in a desperate attempt to escape the stifling heat of their overcrowded cells. The incident reignited calls to air-condition the prison – one recommendation of the Northern Territory Ombudsman, and firmly in step with the Territory’s human rights obligations to people deprived of their liberty.
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Modelling Respect and Equality evaluation finds pilot program promotes change
Participants in our healthy masculinity workshops in schools are gaining new knowledge, skills and adopting these into their everyday lives in and outside of the school, according to Deloitte Access Economics’ recent evaluation of our Modelling Respect and Equality schools pilot program. ...
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A reflection on the times by Father Andy Hamilton SJ
These have been hard days in a hard world, haven’t they? ...
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Reflection: Australia must enact a Human Rights Act
Jesuit Social Services’ rights-based approach to advocacy and service provision is grounded in our belief that every person’s rights and freedoms must be protected. Here, Andy Hamilton SJ reflects on our recommendation that the Federal Government enact a Human Rights Act – building on our...
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Deepening our conversation on The Voice to Parliament
Jesuit Social Services supports a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament and throughout 2023, we are advocating for a YES vote in the upcoming referendum. We were honoured to welcome Amanda Watkinson, who is an Aboriginal woman and former Jesuit Social Services staff member, to speak to staff at our recent All Staff Day in June about what a YES vote would mean for Indigenous peoples and for Australia as a whole.
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National Gender Equality Strategy must address harmful ideas about all genders
Jesuit Social Services made a submission to the Federal Government’s National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality in 2022. We advocated for a strategy that recognises and addresses harmful gender norms. The Strategy is due to be released in the second half of 2023.
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Reflecting on the role of neighbourhood houses under a changing climate
Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places worked with a network of neighbourhood houses in Darebin to create a climate action and resilience plan in 2022. Inspired by this process, the Centre co-designed a framework with the Darebin network which can be used to guide strategic action planning and advocacy for networks of neighbourhood houses across the country. No similar framework currently exists for neighbourhood house networks. Below are some of our reflections from this work.
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‘Open door’ place-based approach facilitates culturally safe space for First Nations people
Recently, Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, our hub for place-based action, research and advocacy, was commissioned by the Victorian government to investigate what makes some place-based approaches so effective. Our team, alongside partners RMIT University, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the University of Queensland, explored existing literature and practice, publishing a research report and case studies across the state, including the Latrobe Valley Authority.