Research Themes
Working across the boundaries of the social science and human-centred disciplines at UniSA, SRC’s research activities sit within four thematic hubs that reflect the interests, strengths and expertise of our team:
- Gender & Diversity
- Cultural Diversity & Intercultural Communication
- Security & Citizenship
- Wellbeing & Social Inclusion
Gender & Diversity
The Gender & Diversity research hub explores how intersecting social identities and disadvantage, such as those related to gender, class, cultural background, sexualities and disabilities, frame many of the social problems in contemporary societies. Our research is feminist-informed and includes projects focused on gendered violence, gender and sexual diversity, mothering, social marginalisation among women prisoners, gender and mental health, and gender and migration. Across these areas, we explore how intertwined gendered discourses and structural inequalities impact on different groups in the community, partnering with a wide range of organisations and groups to advance gender equality and diversity.
Recent projects:
Understanding the long term impact of childhood emotional abuse, Australian Research Council - Discovery Project, 2021 – 2024
The State of Sexual Violence: Barriers to Reporting and Help Seeking within South Australia, SA Health, 2024-2025
What helps young people create healthy relationships and reject domestic violence? Children’s Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation, 2021- 2023
Powerful Interventions: Improving the use and enforcement of Intervention Orders as a tool to address family and domestic violence in South Australia, The Law Foundation of SA Incorporated, 2021 – 2022
Cultural Diversity & Intercultural Communication
Research undertaken within the cultural diversity and citizenship research hub engages in policy relevant and methodologically innovative scholarship in the areas of culturally and linguistically groups, migration, diasporas, and refugees. There is a focus on the everyday lived experience of interculturality, with a particular emphasis on the role of identity and language, and its importance within a range of vocational and educational contexts.
Recent nominated member projects:
Being multilingual: the experiences of young people learning community languages, The Ethnic Schools Assoc. of SA Inc., 01/11/2021 - 30/04/2023
2020-2022 - International Intercultural Cities Comparative study, European Commission, Erasmus+ Programme, Jean Monnet Project
Security & Citizenship
The Security & citizenship hub focuses on threats to peace, social inclusion and sustainable development that emerge from war, corruption, organised crime, and environmental disaster. Our research examines how real and perceived risks intersect and impact upon people’s rights, culture, and safety. With a core focus being on prevention and the building of resilience in social systems, scholars working on this theme seek to identify and address the multidimensional causes and consequences of challenges to human security. As such our concern lies both with global social-cultural, economic, and political forces as well as the ways in which the civil sphere, independent regulatory institutions, works as carriers of democratic principles.
Recent nominated member projects:
Learning from Operation Tonga Assist: Great Power competition and ADF humanitarian disaster response Pacific strategy, Australian Civil-Military Centre, Australian Government, 2025-2026
Outsourcing Security? Exploring the consequences for the Profession of Arms and a new model for civil-military-industry relations. Australian Army Research Scheme, 2025
Influence Theories and Models, Defence Science and Technology Group, 2021-2025
Drawing on Reserves: Enhancing capability through civilian employer-military relations, Australian Army Research Grant, 2022
Supporting the Dependants of Human Trafficking and Forced Marriage Victims, Red Cross Society, 2021
Language and Policing: Investigating the Significance and Role of Language Choices in Policing, South Australia Police, 2020
Wellbeing & Social Inclusion
The Wellbeing & Social Inclusion hub focuses on the social dimensions of wellbeing and ways of enhancing social inclusion for individuals and groups facing social stigma and marginalisation related to mental health. This research draws on insights from critical psychology, strengths-based social work, mad studies and critical feminist perspectives on madness to help forge new approaches to increasing wellbeing among individuals and communities. To this end, we partner with community members, groups and organisations to challenge pathologizing discourses about mental illness and de-powering treatment practices, and advocate for socially-informed, peer-led recovery approaches to therapy, the provision of community-based support and prevention.
Recent projects:
Post-parental care planning for rural people with intellectual disabilities, Australian Research Council - Linkage Project, 2021 - 2023
Empowering young women through mental health peer support, Breakthrough Mental Health Foundation, 2022 – 2023
AHURI - Housing aspirations for precariously housed older Australians (20/PRO/81253), Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, 2020 – 2021
Past Projects
Gendered violence and citizenship: the complex effects of intimate partner violence on mental health, housing and employment
Australian Research Council-funded Discovery Project
Investigators: Suzanne Franzway, Nicole Moulding, Carole Zufferey, Donna Chung and Sarah Wendt
This project revealed the interconnected impact of intimate partner violence on women’s citizenship with a focus on mental health, housing, work and social participation. The project contributed to the development of domestic violence leave for South Australian public servants and the establishment of the Zahra Foundation. A book has been recently published from this study entitled, Franzway, S., Moulding, N.T., Wendt, S., Zufferey, C. & Chung, D. (2019) The Sexual Politics of Gendered Violence and Women’s Citizenship. Bristol: Policy Press.
