Indigenous Elder-Guided Relationship and Community Repair After Youth Sexual Violence: A Churchill Fellowship
Tracks
Room 1 - In-Person & Online
| Tuesday, October 22, 2024 |
| 2:45 PM - 3:05 PM |
| Room 1 |
Overview
Lauren French, Body Safety Australia
Speaker
Ms Lauren French
Head Of Education & Community Development
Body Safety Australia
Indigenous Elder-guided relationship and community repair after youth sexual violence: A Churchill Fellowship
Abstract
I have had the privilege of working with thousands of young people as Head of Education with Body Safety Australia, Victorias leading not-for-profit charity organisation promoting childhood’s free from violence where children enjoy equitable and respectful relationships. I have specialised in facilitating programs around child sexual abuse, consent & respectful relationships, puberty & sexuality and LGBTQIA+ equity & inclusivity education. I have continuously heard from young people how our systems continue to fail them after they experience sexual violence, particularly at the hands of their peers.
In 2023 I was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to research different elder-led Indigenous cultural approaches addressing relationship repair and victim healing after youth sexual violence. The intention of this research was to collate the strength based cultural knowledge across indigenous communities globally. In 2024 I travelled to New Zealand, the USA, Canada and Norway to meet and yarn with community leaders. Through interviews with academic experts, cultural knowledge holders and observing healing practices I intended to find the connections between indigenous people across the world. My research was focused around investigating:
How colonisation changed sexual violence rates experienced and enacted by First Nations people.
How colonisation changed responses to sexual violence experienced and enacted by First Nations youth.
How Indigenous Elders in community guide repair and healing after youth sexual violence.
How international Indigenous methods can be adopted within Australia to combat devastating impact of colonisation on youth sexual violence and reduced multigenerational relationships.
Through this presentation I will share the journey, both geographically and thematically, that this research fellowship led me through. I will share the findings detailing the shared global barriers to indigenous knowledge being broadly utilised within the prevention and intervention sector. I will also share the best practice I have found through the ancient knowledge of story telling.
In 2023 I was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to research different elder-led Indigenous cultural approaches addressing relationship repair and victim healing after youth sexual violence. The intention of this research was to collate the strength based cultural knowledge across indigenous communities globally. In 2024 I travelled to New Zealand, the USA, Canada and Norway to meet and yarn with community leaders. Through interviews with academic experts, cultural knowledge holders and observing healing practices I intended to find the connections between indigenous people across the world. My research was focused around investigating:
How colonisation changed sexual violence rates experienced and enacted by First Nations people.
How colonisation changed responses to sexual violence experienced and enacted by First Nations youth.
How Indigenous Elders in community guide repair and healing after youth sexual violence.
How international Indigenous methods can be adopted within Australia to combat devastating impact of colonisation on youth sexual violence and reduced multigenerational relationships.
Through this presentation I will share the journey, both geographically and thematically, that this research fellowship led me through. I will share the findings detailing the shared global barriers to indigenous knowledge being broadly utilised within the prevention and intervention sector. I will also share the best practice I have found through the ancient knowledge of story telling.
Biography
Lauren French (She/Her) is a proud Karajarri women from Larrakia Lands and has always been passionate about finding ways to support and empower First Nations people. Her work centres on moving others from viewing mob through a deficit lens and understanding the real strengths community holds in preventing harm.
With a Bachelors in Psychology and Masters of Sexology, Lauren acts as Head of Education with Body Safety Australia, specialising in sexual violence prevention and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Along with her Churchill Fellowship, Lauren is the proud recipient of the 2023 Indigenous Achievement award in the 7News Young Achiever Awards (Victoria).
