Reflections on the first year of the Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women at Curtin

Led by Professor Astghik Mavisakalyan, Principal Research Fellow at the BCEC, the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) node at Curtin University kicked off its first official year in 2024 with a running start.

Throughout the year, the team onboarded new members in research and administrative support, produced a number of new research papers, and undertook a comprehensive schedule of domestic and international engagement activities.

“This has been a gratifying year for us,” Professor Mavisakalyan said. “We’ve made good inroads into establishing ourselves, setting up important connections, and getting a start on our research program.”

Located at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, the Curtin node of CEVAW has a primary investigative focus on the role that institutions play in the prevalence and prevention of violence against women, while also collaborating across the wider CEVAW network.

The team includes CEVAW node administrator Nothando Ngwenya, CEVAW research fellow Dr Quynh Do, research assistants Erica Novanti and Dhanie Nugroho (also a PhD student), as well as a cohort of PhD students including Phil Doan Pham, Ha Nguyen and Tobden Tobden.

Also involved are Dr Marshall Makate from the Curtin University School of Population Health, who serves as the Gender, Violence and Institutions seminar series coordinator, and Dr Toan Nguyen from the Australian National University (and former PhD graduate of the BCEC), who is a CEVAW associate investigator.

“We had some exciting achievements across the team this year,” Professor Mavisakalyan said.

“Do presented a paper at the Econometric Society Australasia Meeting at Monash University, and Phil took home the best poster award for methodology at the inaugural CEVAW symposium in Melbourne.

“We’ve also had a number of very successful milestone presentations across our PhD cohort, and we’re looking forward to the impactful work they will produce.”

While busy expanding and researching, the team also found the time to strengthen relationships across Australia and internationally.

At home, Professor Mavisakalyan presented to the Stronger Together Implementation Group in Western Australia about CEVAW’s work, while also sharing the work of CEVAW with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.

Abroad, the Curtin node CEVAW team participated in a range of high-level workshops and stakeholder engagements in Vietnam, Indonesia, New York, Japan and Abu Dhabi.

“We’re really proud of everything we’ve started in 2024 and are excited for what lies ahead in 2025,” Professor Mavisakalyan said.