What we do
For decades, researchers across UTS have been producing influential work on domestic, family and sexual violence. Early in 2025, the Research Community on Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence was established to bring this extensive expertise together, recognising that such an entrenched and complex problem demands sustained collaboration, new thinking and innovative solutions to drive meaningful impact.
Harnessing expertise across law, health, design, building, business, communications, engineering and technology disciplines, we aim to directly inform policy development and frameworks that support victim-survivors, enhance perpetrator accountability, and inform prevention in Australia and around the world. In addition, our research and new knowledge is quickly being transferred to the classroom, where we are informing and training the next workforce.
Our key aims are to:
- Conduct groundbreaking multidisciplinary work on domestic, family, and sexual violence.
- Lead national efforts to address domestic, family, and sexual violence.
- Obtain research funding for future collaborative projects.
- Strengthen partnerships with the domestic, family, and sexual violence sector, policymakers and those with lived experience.
UTS 2030
Our research community aligns with UTS’s 2030 strategic priorities:
A creative and innovative university: Our researchers collaborate with real-world practitioners to find innovative solutions at the intersections between business/law, design/health, building/economic development.
A connected and engaged university: We have longstanding connections with the domestic, family, and sexual violence service sector, service providers, government agencies, Indigenous groups and those with lived experience. We support Indigenous-led research, emphasising knowledge translation/exchange.
A student-centred university: Curriculums across the university engage students in domestic, family, and sexual violence-related topics and real-life issues.
A resilient and agile university: We mentor and support the wellbeing of PhD students and early career researchers who are conducting research in this important and challenging area.
Our people
The UTS Research Community on Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence includes more than 50 academics across UTS with diverse academic and practice backgrounds, including law, health, design, building, business, communications, engineering and technology.
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Dr Jane Wangmann Dr Jane Wangmann’s multi-disciplinary research is primarily concerned with legal responses to domestic and family violence. She has particular expertise in understanding how law defines, understands and conceives of this harm. |
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Dr Mihajla Gavin Dr Mihajla Gavin specialises in employment relations and human resource management, where her research investigates fair and decent work in the changing world of work. |
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Dr Samantha Donnelly Dr Samantha Donnelly leads studios on sustainable and climate responsive practices for projects that deliver social impact for vulnerable communities, in particular women and children leaving domestic and family violence. |
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Dr Anne Summers AO Dr Anne Summers is a best-selling author and journalist whose research is dedicated to ending domestic and family violence. She has been a leader in the women’s movement since the early 1970s, when she was involved in helping start Elsie, Australia’s first women’s refuge. |
