newy.com.au – University of Newcastle researchers will build what they say is the first substantial Australian evidence base on sexual and gendered violence experienced by current and former religious sisters.
The Overcoming Silence project will collect accounts from women affected by church-based abuse through in-depth interviews and an anonymous international survey. Researchers will also examine Australian inquiry records, memoirs and archival material.
Sociologist Dr Kathleen McPhillips will lead the project, which was jointly developed with University of Newcastle researcher Dr Tracy McEwan and is being supported by the Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation.
The research grew from the International Survey of Catholic Women, which attracted more than 800 qualitative responses from participants who identified themselves as religious sisters and described experiences of harm and abuse.
“Currently in Australia, this cohort of survivors is under recognised and there are very few narratives or accounts of gendered violence,” Dr McPhillips said.
“For too long, these voices have remained unheard. This research is about creating safe, trauma-informed opportunities for women to share their stories, while generating the evidence needed to support meaningful institutional change.”
The university said more than 650,000 religious sisters worked in communities around the world, particularly in education, health care and services for people experiencing disadvantage.
The research will build on Dr McPhillips’ work with survivors of church-based abuse through the Hunter Outreach Project, which has provided trauma-informed pathways for people to share their experiences.
The Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation also has strong Newcastle links. Its Hunter Street building houses Soul Hub and other community organisations.
Foundation founder and chair Tracy Norman said the organisation aimed to support work on overlooked issues.
“It takes courage and determination to look at such a difficult topic that very much needs to see the light of day,” she said.
More information is available on the University of Newcastle website. Current and former religious sisters can participate through the anonymous survey.
