Research

On this page:


Our advocacy, research and social policy work draws on our experience engaging with disadvantaged people, families and communities.We identify areas of unmet need, conduct and publish research and use our findings to advocate for change in keeping with our vision of ‘building a just society’.

We explore social issues such as:

  • young people and adults in the justice system
  • education, training and employment pathways
  • people with complex needs
  • people seeking asylum
  • complex and entrenched disadvantage
  • family violence
  • ecological justice

We regularly conduct and publish research, using our findings to inform our policy and advocacy work. You can view some of our latest research below.

Dropping off the Edge

For more than 20 years, Jesuit Social Services has collaborated with researchers to examine complex disadvantage in communities around the country. Throughout that time, we have released a series of reports now generally known as Dropping off the Edge. Dropping off the Edge 2021 is the fifth instalment in the series.

Dropping off the Edge 2021 shows clearly that complex and entrenched disadvantage is experienced by a small but persistent number of locations in each state and territory across Australia. As a society we cannot, and should not, turn away from the challenge of persistent and entrenched locational disadvantage, no matter how difficult it may be to solve the problem.

Download Dropping off the Edge 2021

Support After Suicide

The research report “We were fighting the system as well as the illness”: Family perceptions of how Victoria responds to people at risk of suicide and their loved ones shows, through the experience of people bereaved by the suicide of a loved one, that Victoria’s mental health system was under significant stress even before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report was compiled from an online survey completed by family members of people who took their own lives. The survey was completed by 142 former and current participants of Support After Suicide’s counselling services, and was supplemented with in-depth interviews with 28 people.

Download the Support After Suicide Report

Unpacking the Man Box

Unpacking the Man Box is based on a survey of 1,000 young Australian men aged 18 to 30. The report builds on the findings of The Men’s Project’s 2018 reportThe Man Box.

The initial Man Box report found that young Australian men who believe in outdated masculine stereotypes were themselves at higher risk of using violence, online bullying and sexual harassment, engaging in risky drinking and reporting poorer levels of mental health.

The new study finds young Australian men’s belief in rigid masculine stereotypes has a stronger impact on whether they will use violence, sexually harass women, or experience mental ill-health themselves, than other factors including their education levels, where they live or their cultural heritage.

Download Unpacking the Man Box