Type:	Journal Article
Title:	The slippery slide of women's refuge funding. 1970s to 1990s: the New South Wales experience
Other Titles:	Women against violence : an Australian feminist journal
Authors:	Melville, Roselyn
Keywords:	Housing;Policy
Year:	1998
Publisher:	CASA House (Centre Against Sexual Assault)
Citation:	(5), December 1998
Notes:	Since the early 1970s Australian feminists have been engaged in a battle with the state to support appropriate forms of intervention which will assist women and children living with domestic violence. One early form of feminist intervention was the establishment of women's refuges. This article identifies a number of key periods in this battle with the Australian State for refuge funding, with particular reference to New South Wales. The history of refuge funding over the past two decades provides a complex picture of state/feminist engagement. This account of the financial survival of women's refuges points to a number of crucial factors, which do not depend on the 'benevolence' of any particular government. As we approach the late 1990s, homelessness and domestic violence are still high on feminists' political priorities, especially in a time which is characterised by the 'dominance of the market' in Australian social policy. Concessions gained by feminists from the State over the past two decades can be readily swept away by moves towards 'competitive tendering' and the privatisation of public services. Counteracting these pressures to restructure and reduce state funding are feminist activities working in services such as refuges. Indeed, the women's refuge movement has demonstrated a remarkable resilience to dealing with the vagaries of state funding over the past two decades.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12681
ISSN:	1327-5550
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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