Nicole L. Asquith

Positive ageing, neoliberalism and Australian sociology

Australian sociology has wrestled with most of the big issues facing this society; however, when it comes to one of the most significant changes to face Australia in the next 30 years, it has suddenly lost its capacity to engage with the nexus between demography, social processes and political structures. While governments have forged ahead with responsibilization agendas in health, welfare and unemployment, sociology has voiced its concern about the implications for Australia’s most disadvantaged. Yet, when it comes to population ageing, sociology has been, in large part, silent in the face of neoliberal policies of positive ageing, which have framed the ‘problem’ as a deficit that must be managed primarily by individuals and their families. This article maps the field of positive ageing, identifies key social concerns with this policy approach and asks, where is Australian sociology?

Conceptual divides and practice synergies in law enforcement and public health: some lessons from policing vulnerability in Australia

ABSTRACT The debates about how and whether law enforcement and public health share a policy and practice mandate are perplexing. Frontline practice indicates that this intersection is de rigueur, and that practitioners from both fields see no reason why they cannot work together beneficially. Indeed, police are as much public health interventionists as health practitioners are public safety facilitators. In this article, we identify the conceptual dissonance that continues to frame the debate about law enforcement and public health, and document the practical synergies that exist (and have always existed) in both fields. We suggest that the divide between law enforcement and public health is futile, and that the shared concept of vulnerability in policing, health and law can do much to foster better collaborative practices, policies and shared understandings.

Seniors in shopping centres

Many studies have examined issues of youth and public spaces; however, less attention has been devoted to seniors and their navigation and experience of community spaces, particularly in relation to their sense of inclusion in, or exclusion from, consumptive spaces. This article explores the everyday experiences of seniors in four Australian shopping centres, two in Melbourne and two in Hobart. Based on a survey of 260 seniors (the majority aged 75 years or more), respondents’ perceptions of this environment are considered, including the reasons for visiting the shopping centre, and the challenges of accessing and negotiating the shopping centre ‘terrain’. The research findings indicate that how seniors engage with and navigate the shopping centre is influenced not only by the nature of the space itself, but also by their personal historical and cultural experiences. Where and why seniors choose to ‘hang out’ in shopping centres has implications for research into the social landscapes of ageing, along with public policy and shopping centre procedures. There is a need to consider both the social and physical well-being of older people in the shopping centre locus, and to take positive steps towards improving and enhancing their experience in an environment that is often used to provide a range of experiences that go beyond mere ‘retail therapy’.

No Place Like Home: Intrafamilial Hate Crime against Gay Men and Lesbians

Popular representations of hate crime are commonly framed by the notion of ‘stranger danger’, and while more contemporary research has identified the situational contexts of this victimisation (Mason 2005; Moran 2007; Iganski 2008; Perry & Alvi 2012), there remains a gap in relation to intrafamilial hate crime. In addition to being more violent, hate violence against sexual and gender diverse communities — as with honour-based violence — is also more likely than other forms of hate crime to be perpetrated by immediate family members. This chapter identifies the key characteristics of reported violence against gay men and lesbians and critically examines the force and effects of intrafamilial hate crime. As a set of outlier files in a larger study of verbal–textual hostility in hate crime victimisation (Asquith 2013), the data presented in this chapter illustrate how these specific forms of intimate hatred can be easily mislabelled, and in turn, misunderstood in terms of policy and practice. Traditional models for understanding hate crimemotivation do not capture the intimate nature of this form of victimisation, where the motivation is not thrill or excitement, defence, retaliation, or mission (McDevitt et al. 2002). In this paper, we propose that intrafamilial hate crime is expressed in ways that better align with honour-based violence than hate crime.

Measuring the Tangible Fear of Heterosexist Violence

Fear of crime (FoC) has dominated the political landscape over the last 20 years, with many crime policy developments during this period linked not to actual experiences of violence but to the fear of victimization. Fear of crime studies, in most cases, are conducted with populations that have only a passing, mediated knowledge of crime victimization. The research discussed in this article, in contrast, considers the impact of FoC with a highly victimized community, and establishes psychometric testing to validate an instrument to measure the impact of that fear (Fear of Heterosexism Scale [FoHS]). If FoC is related to experiences of crime as the existing research suggests, then victims of heterosexist prejudice, discrimination, and/or violence would be more likely to fear such incidents in the future. It was also predicted that participants who concealed their sexual and/or gender identity and had lower levels of social connectedness would experience higher levels of fear. The findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in FoH, and identify the critical roles that disclosure and social connectedness play in ameliorating the damaging effects of heterosexist victimization.

Vulnerability as a Contemporary Challenge for Policing

Vulnerability is becoming an increasing concern in policy and legislation and as a focus for action in policing and criminal justice practice. Yet, concerns about the over-representation of vulnerable people in the criminal justice system are not new, with literature on the topic spanning more than five decades. What has come to the fore more recently, though, is a renewed conceptualisation and understanding of what vulnerability is when applied across disciplinary practices. Greater efforts at the operationalisation of vulnerability by practitioners in policing, justice and other areas of government have also expanded the reach of this organising concept.

Diversity and safety on campus @ Western: Heterosexism and cissexism in higher education

Discrimination, harassment and violence can vitiate staff and students’ experiences of education and work. Although there is increasing knowledge about these experiences in primary and secondary education, very little is known about them in higher education. This paper draws from landmark research that examines the interpersonal, educational and socio-cultural perspectives that prevail about sexuality and gender diversity on an Australian university campus. In this paper we focus on three aspects of the broader research findings: the heterosexism and cissexism experienced by sexuality and gender diverse students and staff at the university; their actions and responses to these experiences; and the impact of these experiences on victims. The research demonstrates that although the university is generally safe, sexuality and gender diverse students and staff experience heterosexist and cissexist discrimination, which can have negative ramifications on their workplace and learning experiences.

A Federation of Clutter: The Bourgeoning Language of Vulnerability in Australian Policing Policies

The policing of vulnerable people has long been a topic of operational uncertainty and political sensitivity. On the one hand, governments have accepted that police officers require special mechanisms to cater for disadvantaged social groups and should interact with members of these groups in such a way that vulnerability attributes are acknowledged (Bartkowiak-Theron and Asquith 2012a). On the other hand, agencies disagree on a variety of technical issues relating to the policing of vulnerable people, such as collaborative logistics, leadership, ownership and resource sharing. The policing of vulnerability has been under close scrutiny for over 30 years, with an increasing array of government and non-government services contributing their own areas of expertise to assist in solving these ‘wicked’ issues (Fleming and Wood 2006: 2). Yet, the burgeoning lists of who constitutes a vulnerable person, and the haphazard and localised development of strategies, have left little room for policy and practice transfer across vulnerability attributes, let alone jurisdictions. In this chapter, we reverse the policy transfer lens from the UK and US to consider the valuable policy and practice innovations developed in one Australian jurisdiction that may resolve some of the operational barriers to policing vulnerability in other jurisdictions.

Police as Public Health Interventionists

Practice collaboration between policing and health practitioners is now commonplace, including the growth of mental health intervention teams in policing organisations. In this chapter, we extend the work already developed by scholars aligned with the Law Enforcement and Public Health conference, and consider the practice implications of moving upstream and away from a reliance upon downstream crisis intervention. In this shift, we suggest that the concept of vulnerability may assist policing organisations to reconceptualise some of their work as public health intervention.

Divides and Synergies in Australian Law Enforcement and Public Health

Citation: Bartkowiak-Théron I, Asquith NL (2017) Divides and Synergies in Australian Law Enforcement and Public Health. J Drug Abuse Vol.3 No.3:20 The current divide between law enforcement and public health is baffling in light of the long history of engagement between practitioners in the field. In this paper, we argue that this divide is futile, and we suggest an alternative lens through which to view the ground shared by these disciplines. In light of an empirical and conceptual analysis of policy and practice in Australia, we suggest that an understanding of vulnerability based on universal precautions can offer new opportunities for policing, and reinforce existing inter-agency relationships between law enforcement and public health [1].