Associate Professor Shawana Andrews has been awarded the Chancellor's Prize

Associate Professor Shawana Andrews has been one of the three Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis winners in MDHS for her thesis on Aboriginal mothers' experiences of family violence.

A/Prof Shawana Andrews is a Trawlwoolway Palawa woman and a Director ad Associate Professor of the Poche Center for Indigenous Health and Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work in MSHS.  Shawana a long history of working across Aboriginal communities in Victoria with over 20 years of experience in Aboriginal health.

This year Shawana became one of six recipients of The Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis, and is the only awardee from MSHS in the 2023 selection. We would like to congratulate her on the success of her PhD thesis "Cloaked in Strength An exploration of Aboriginal mothers’ experiences of family violence and the role of cultural practice as a tool of engagement, resilience and resistance".  In Australia, domestic and family violence (DFV) experienced by Aboriginal women demands critical attention. This study aimed to examine the lived experiences of DFV from seventeen Aboriginal mothers in Melbourne from an Indigenous perspective and an Aboriginal researcher's view in the hopes of un-silencing the voices of Aboriginal women in their resistance against violence.