My Continuing Journey

It's been just over a month since I officially started my PhD journey, but for me, the journey began long before that. Towards the end of my Honours year (otherwise known as the Year of Covid), I realised that there was so much more to research, so much more to learn about my field of study. As a criminology major, my passion was about domestic violence and violence against women, although I'm also touched by the plight of minority groups all over the world and the systemic inequality and injustice meted down to them. My BA was littered with case studies and assessments about gender violence, including the role of the criminal justice system and comparative global studies.

This week's PhD class posed some provocative questions about our motivations and inspirations, what we want to achieve and how we plan to do this. Lofty ideals abound as I think about the world I want to live in, and the research I want to do to help that world come about. My motivations are personal and triggered by my own experience of domestic abuse, my ongoing healing journey and that of my children. Endless stories, from my great aunt dying after a home abortion, to my mother being told she had to be either a teacher or a nurse (she had aspirations to be a doctor), to my 20-something year old workmates and friends experiencing disrespect and abuse from partners or former partners. I'm inspired by all these stories and more, the women I never knew who sought help but were failed by our society and our criminal justice system, not just 25 years ago but yesterday and the day before that.

My experiences have impacted my choices. For good or bad, in relationships, work and study, they have shaped my present. And that's ok. I'm still learning. I'm still growing.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!