Our thinking Archives - Page 27 of 31 - Jesuit Social Services

More than the sum of their crimes: listening to the voices of young people
- 2 May 2017
Policy team volunteer DARCY TILBROOK advocates for a more rounded view of young offenders. He draws on Jesuit Social Services’ recent conversation about how politics, media and public opinion shape youth justice in Australia. How young offenders are viewed by society is heavily influenced by the media. The language used and the stories told often…
Investments into addressing youth remand numbers will ease pressure on system
- 24 April 2017
As public concern has risen over community safety in Victoria, so too has the number of young people held on remand in the state. In late 2016, before an incident at Parkville Youth Detention Centre that resulted in part of the facility being shut down and a number of young people being transferred to the…
Anzac Day is a chance to imagine living, not dying, for democracy
- 24 April 2017
Rather than asking what cause people died for, we should ask what we’re prepared to live for, says ANDY HAMILTON. In this blog, he shows how linking soldiers’ deaths to a broader cause diminishes people’s intrinsic value. Image: Pixabay At Anzac Day it’s common to set the deaths of the soldiers at Gallipoli into the…
Easter is a time to hold those without homes in our hearts
- 13 April 2017
Easter stories in the Christian tradition urge us to reflect on home and homelessness, writes ANDY HAMILTON SJ. In Australia, Easter is a time for celebration: for eating, drinking, meeting and relaxing. This year it sits uneasily with the world context: people fleeing bombings in Syria, wandering through other countries, languishing on Nauru and Manus…
Deporting child migrants who commit crimes will only increase social exclusion
- 10 April 2017
As Australian politicians talk tough on serious crimes committed by migrants, Jesuit Social Services volunteer JAMES ALLEN explores solutions that build trust, foster belonging and strengthen social cohesion for diverse communities. Recent media reporting on issues relating to migrants has highlighted politicians’ views in favour of supporting the deportation of migrants, including children, who commit…
On being courageous - by Andy Hamilton SJ
- 22 March 2017
ANDY HAMILTON SJ contemplates courage in the second blog from our organisational values series. In the Catholic (and Jesuit tradition) courage is associated above all with martyrs. They often died gory and slow deaths in difficult circumstances. So their constancy and courage were exceptional. The sixteenth century Spanish Jesuit Charles Spinola, for example, was both…
Balancing youth justice in Australia
- 21 March 2017
Throughout 2016 and into 2017 a number of high-profile events across Australia have focused the spotlight on young people, crime and community safety. In the Northern Territory, the revelation of horrific conditions and abuse of young people at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Protection…
How to help people be happy: respect, constancy and connection
- 19 March 2017
The International Day of Happiness is a quirky celebration. Most international days celebrate groups of people – women, children, journalists, refugees etc. Or they point to quite specific qualities that we need in order to flourish: mental and physical health, peace, or asylum. They encourage us to be attentive to particular groups of people who…
International Women's Day: How global reflection can lead to local understanding
- 8 March 2017
International Women’s Day, like all such days, is an occasion for celebration. It celebrates the achievements of women both at home and around the globe. It also celebrates the freedom from oppressive and discriminatory conditions that women have won in so many societies: the right to vote, to choose a partner, and to have recourse…
International Women's Day: we must reverse the trajectory of female incarceration rates
- 7 March 2017
As we celebrate International Women’s Day this year, let us pause to remember the women at the margins of society, those who remain out of sight and out of mind. Like those in prison. As of February this year, there were just over 500 females in Victorian prisons. The Victorian female imprisonment rate increased 44.7 per cent…

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