Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches

Dr Summers is Professor of Domestic and Family Violence at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. In this role, and while serving as the inaugural Paul Ramsay Foundation Fellow (2021-22), Dr Summers researches the pervasive impacts of domestic and family violence in Australia, its broader inequalities and economic implications to support and inform the development of policies and strategies to significantly improve the lives of women and break cycles of systemic disadvantage. Dr Summers is also a renowned journalist, author and advocate with an accomplished career in the fields of politics, media, business and the non-government sector. Dr Summers was the head of the Australian Government Office of the Status of Women (1983-86). She is the author of nine books including the renowned Damned Whores and God’s Police (1975 and still in print). In 1989, Dr Summers was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to journalism and to women.

Dr Fernando is a descendant of the Kalarie Peoples of the Wiradjuri Nation and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health. Holding a PhD in Medical Anthropology, Dr Fernando’s research focuses on the cultural and social experiences of LGBTIQ+ Indigenous Australians within Australian healthcare settings. Previously the Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ Communities from 2021 to 2023, Dr Fernando is a dedicated advocate for the safety, rights and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ communities. As Commissioner he played a crucial role in the development and implementation of the Whole of Victorian Government LGBTIQ+ Strategy. In 2018, Dr Fernando co-founded Koorie Pride Victoria, an advocacy organisation that campaigns for the social inclusion and advancement of Victoria’s LGBTIQ+ Aboriginal community. Dr Fernando is also a Patron of the LGBTIQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation.

Dr Gassner is a consultant and former Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner, with a 35-year career in Victoria Police. Dr Gassner managed significant cultural and organisational change processes, most notably leading a review of policing responses into violence against women. This work led to his chairing of the Victorian Government’s State-wide Steering Committee to Reduce Family Violence and the State-wide Steering Committee to Reduce Sexual Assault. He was also a Member on the Australian Government’s Violence against Women Advisory Group and Victoria’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on Mental Health Reform. He has conducted national consultations on perpetrator intervention for government. Dr Gassner has previously chaired the Victorian Coroners Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths Panel and has also worked on gender-based violence in South Africa and China and gender equity in medical research. Dr Gassner’s interest lies in finding systemic change in social issues.

Ms Campbell is the Associate Director of Research at the Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University. Ms Campbell oversees a program of research focused on family, domestic and sexual violence and the interactions of legal and court processes with experiences and use of harm. Ms Campbell leads research focused on young people’s use of violence at home and in intimate relationships, as well as previous work focused on perpetrator accountability and support for the implementation of recommendations from Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence. Ms Campbell has particular expertise in working with populations that are pushed into contact with legal processes as a result of systemic and state-driven trauma, including First Nations communities and criminalised women. Ms Campbell previously worked as a legal advisor in the Victorian Government and as a consultant to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Ms Hill is an investigative journalist, educator and advocate on gendered violence and coercive control. Ms Hill authored See What You Made Me Do (2019), a comprehensive investigation of the phenomenon of domestic abuse and coercive control, which was awarded the Stella Prize in 2020. Ms Hill later produced and presented a three-part documentary series adaptation which aired on SBS, ‘See What You Made Me Do’ (2021). She also produced and presented a follow-up series on SBS, ‘Asking For It’ (2023), which explores consent and issues of sexual violence and authored the Quarterly Essay on how #MeToo has changed Australia. Ms Hill has spoken at over 350 public events about gendered violence, as well as educating magistrates, police, health and family law professionals on coercive control. Ms Hill sits on the National Women’s Safety Alliance Sexual Violence Working Group and is regularly consulted by the gendered violence sector and policymakers. She was named Marie Claire’s 2023 Changemaker of the Year and the 2024 NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence.

Dr Seidler is a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert. Dr Seidler is the Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movember and a Senior Research Fellow at Orygen at the University of Melbourne, which focuses on youth mental health. Dr Seidler is a leading expert on the intersection of men’s mental health and masculinity with perpetration of violence. Dr Seidler has dedicated his academic and professional career towards further understanding and creating mental health services that account for men’s mental health and masculinity, to help reduce rates of male suicide and domestic violence.