Margaret Alston

Rural male suicide in Australia

The rate of suicide amongst Australias rural men is significantly higher than rural women, urban men or urban women. There are many explanations for this phenomenon including higher levels of social isolation, lower socio-economic circumstances and ready access to firearms. Another factor is the challenge of climate transformation for farmers. In recent times rural areas of Australia have been subject to intense climate change events including a significant drought that has lingered on for over a decade. Climate variability together with lower socio-economic conditions and reduced farm production has combined to produce insidious impacts on the health of rural men. This paper draws on research conducted over several years with rural men working on farms to argue that attention to the health and well-being of rural men requires an understanding not only of these factors but also of the cultural context, inequitable gender relations and a dominant form of masculine hegemony that lauds stoicism in the face of adversity. A failure to address these factors will limit the success of health and welfare programs for rural men.

The Big Dry: The link between rural masculinities and poor health outcomes for farming men

The long-running Australian drought has had significant economic and environmental consequences, not least its impact on water supplies for major cities. What is less well understood are the social consequences affecting the farm families and communities reliant on agricultural production. In this article we focus on the mental health outcomes for farm men, noting that they are more vulnerable to extreme measures such as suicide. We argue that a dominant form of hegemonic masculinity in rural areas, which has served men well in good times, allowing them power and privilege, is inherently unhealthy in times of significant stress such as the current drought. The stoicism so typical of normative rural masculinity prevents men from seeking help when their health is severely compromised. We argue that attending to the health of rural men during drought requires attention not just to health outcomes but also to hegemonic masculinity.

Who is down on the farm? Social aspects of Australian agriculture in the 21st century

Globalization, international policymanipulations such as the US farm bill, andnational policy responses have received a greatdeal of media coverage in recent times. Theseinternational and national events are having amajor impact on agricultural production inAustralia. There is some suggestion that theyare, in fact, responsible for a downturn in thefortunes of agriculture. Yet, it is more likelythat these issues are acting to continue andexacerbate a trend towards reduced viabilityfor farm families evident in economic andsocial trends since at least the 1950s.Nevertheless, globalization and Australias policy responses have left farm families morevulnerable in the global world. What then do weknow about their impact at farm gate level?Just who is doing the farming in Australia inthe 21st century and how are these peopleresponding to major world politics? This paperwill focus on the social aspects ofagricultural production in Australia notingsocial trends and drawing attention to thechanging social relations of agriculture. Thedominance of farm families, the role ofcorporate agriculture, ethnic diversity, theimportance of women, and the practice of farmtransfers will be canvassed in this paper.

Social Capital in Rural Australia

Abstract In Australia, as in the rest of the industrialised world, social capital has been identified as a key element in rural regeneration. For example, the Prime Minister, John Howard, speaks openly of the need for a ‘social coalition’ between communities, governments and businesses that will build social cohesion and trust at community level. For two decades successive Australian governments have followed the world-wide trend in industrialised nations to devolve responsibility for social welfare programs to local areas and to nongovernment agencies, the stated rationale being to break down welfare dependency and to promote individual responsibility. The dismantling of the welfare state and the triumph of capitalism have been defining features of the Australian landscape in recent years.

Gender and climate change in Australia

Debate continues to rage as to the veracity of evidence around the permanence of climate change. There is no doubt that changes are occurring across the world and that these changes are causing significant social hardship, including food and water insecurity and large-scale movements of people. What is also emerging in research across the world is that these social impacts and adaptations are highly gendered. This article draws on several years of research on the Australian drought and more recent research on declining water availability in the Murray—Darling Basin of Australia. It notes the significant social impacts, particularly in remote and irrigation areas, and draws out the gendered impacts of these changes. The article argues for more sensitive rights-based social policy to address people who are under extraordinary stress during times of unparalleled change.

Global Shifts, Sedimentations, and Imaginaries: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Women and Agriculture

In this special issue we introduce new understandings of the role of women in agriculture. Previous scholarship in this area has focused largely on family farming and the gendered relations inherent in that mode of production. In this issue we draw attention to the differential gendered arrangements emerging in global corporate agriculture, noting the various ways women’s labor has been co‐opted by organizations operating on a global scale. The lack of constraints on these organizations creates a climate for a new oppression of women in agricultural production. We also note that the decline in family farming in developed countries has not changed the fact that women act to maintain a hierarchical mode of agricultural production. We expose, too, interpretations of gender relations in ancient agricultural societies as flawed. This special issue opens up challenges to researchers and brings new concepts and understandings to this field. We look forward to a new and invigorated exchange of ideas.

Generation X-pendable The social exclusion of rural and remote young people

Many small communities across the vast interior of Australia are under pressure from ongoing rural restructuring and a long-running drought. Socioeconomic indicators suggest that rural people are significantly disadvantaged by comparison with their urban counterparts. While these factors are evident, less well understood are the circumstances of rural and remote young people. In this article we draw on research conducted in 2001 and 2004 on the employment and educational experiences of young people in these communities. Using Reimers typology of relations associated with social exclusion — market, bureaucratic, associative and communal — we indicate that rural and remote young people are experiencing rising levels of social exclusion. Their access to education and employment is restricted through no fault of their own, and is in fact, obstructed by government policy. The need for sensitive policy to increase the social inclusion of young people in rural and remote areas is evident.

Educational access for Australia's rural young people: a case of social exclusion

The social and economic effects of globalisation in rural communities is well documented. Ageing populations, loss of services and employment opportunities are typical of rural areas in many western industrialised countries. Focusing on declining access to tertiary education, this paper argues that a lack of adequate policy is creating socially excluded young people in country towns. In particular, drawing on research conducted in the Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University, it argues that the financial cost of education is creating a huge barrier for many rural families. If rural areas are to benefit from globalisation, a skilled workforce is critical. Declining rural access to tertiary education exacerbates power differentials resulting from globalisation and therefore restrains access to the opportunities of globalisation and hinders rural revitalisation.

Violence against women in a rural context

Abstract The paper outlines the results of a study conducted in rural NSW in 1995. It examines violence against women in a rural context and outlines rural constraints and structures which make the position of women who are victims of violence particularly tenuous. A lack of refuge accommodation and the difficulties of policing Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) in isolated areas are just two of the issues examined. Service providers in two rural towns were interviewed to gain an understanding of the perceptions of violence against women in rural areas and of the way service providers deal with such violence. The paper outlines the important role social workers can play linking services for the ultimate protection of rural women.

Research, Action and Policy: Addressing the Gendered Impacts of Climate Change

In the context of a potentially global climate crisis, does gender matter? This book sets out to answer this question, drawing together research from across the globe to demonstrate that in areas as diverse as Australia, Canada, Africa, Asia and Europe, there is emerging evidence that gender does matter. It matters because the experiences of women and men during and after times of climate crisis are different – a difference based on cultural norms and practices, on work roles and access to resources, on safety and security and on different levels of vulnerability resulting from a combination of these factors. We are pleased to present this book, a product of our Gender and Climate Change conference held in Prato, Italy, in 2011. This conference was organized and auspiced by the Gender, Leadership and Social Sustainability (GLASS) research unit at Monash University, Australia. The focus of the book is on research, policy and action – what we know, what we need to know, how we might formally respond in order that support for the most vulnerable is forthcoming and that actions taken are transparent and focused on increasing the resilience of all affected by climate change.