Our research

Jan Breckenridge
Professor and Head of the School of Social Sciences and Convenor, Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Professor Jan Breckenridge is Head of the School of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture’s academic lead of the Gendered Violence Research Network.

She is a Research Fellow with the Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW and is a founding member of the International Research Consortium on Financial Abuse including scholars from Rutgers University and the Women and Child Abuse Studies Unit at North London University. 

Jan’s knowledge and reputation in this field is well established and has been developed through extensive original research in the specific areas of child sexual abuse and gendered violence. She has always oriented her research towards maximum impact in innovative social policy development, best practice service provision and outcome measurement of effectiveness. 

In particular, Jan has undertaken substantial research in the effects of and responses to domestic, family, and sexual violence on organisations in different contexts across Australia and the Asia Pacific. Jan has a Bachelor of Social Studies (Hons) USyd and a PhD UNSW.

Mailin Suchting
Manager,
Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Mailin is the Manager of the Gendered Violence Research Network, with a focus on the Gendered Violence & Organisations stream. She has worked in leadership, management, education, and frontline roles shaping public sector policy and responses to the health and justice impact of domestic and family violence, sexual assault, and child physical abuse/neglect on individuals.

She is specifically interested in the intersections of gender, culture, and sexuality. Her most recent roles have been as Manager Policy, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and Director, Child Protection and Violence Prevention NSW Health (NSW Kids and Families and NSW Ministry of Health). Mailin holds a BSW (Hons) UNSW; MA (Communication and Cultural Studies) WSU; Certificate IV Training and Assessment and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) 2017.

Tim Wong
Senior Research Associate, 
Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Tim provides training, research, and policy analysis skills for the Gendered Violence Research Network. He is a registered psychologist who has worked in both government and non-government organisations as a direct care worker supporting people with disabilities, an educator and counsellor specialising in sexuality and disability issues, a Professional Member of the Guardianship Tribunal NSW, and for over 15 years, as a psychologist with people with HIV. He was an accredited counsellor with the Victims Compensation Tribunal providing psychological intervention and support to people who experienced sexual and physical assaults. Since completing his PhD, he has worked in the Schools of Psychology and Medicine at the University of Western Sydney, as Manager of Advocacy and Resources at Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, and the Schools of Medicine and Social Sciences at UNSW before joining the Gendered Violence Research Network. Tim has a BA (Psych) MacqU, MA (Psych) USyd, MA (Couns) MacqU, and PhD (Psych) WSU.

Sara Singh
Research Assistant, 
Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Sara Singh is a Research Assistant at the Gendered Violence Research Network (GVRN), UNSW. She has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice (BCCJ; Hons) from UNSW and has worked across various research projects in the fields of criminology and social work. She is interested in research aimed at informing policy development and best practice responses to individuals and communities impacted by gendered violence and has undertaken research in areas such as domestic and family violence, and economic and financial abuse. In 2020, Sara was awarded a Scientia PhD scholarship. Her PhD research explores perceptions and experiences of dowry and dowry abuse of women from Indian communities in Australia.

Georgia Lyons
Research Assistant, 
Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Georgia Lyons works as a Research Assistant at the Gendered Violence Research Network. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons 1) and Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice from UNSW. She has worked on a range of projects aimed at improving policy and outcomes for individuals and communities affected by gender-based violence, exploring issues such as economic and financial abuse in Australia, best practice responses to domestic and family violence within the insurance industry, the intersections between mental health and sexual assault and abuse, and sexual harassment within the legal profession. She has skills in both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.

Natasha Dubler
Research Assistant, 
Gendered Violence Research Network, UNSW

Natasha Dubler is a Research Assistant with UNSW’s Gendered Violence Research Network specialising in qualitative in-depth methodologies, participatory research methods and policy analysis. She has a BA in Gender and Sexuality studies (ANU, Hons I) and a BA (UTS). She is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at UNSW Art & Design researching participatory sound and installation art with Prof. Anna Munster and Dr. Adam Hulbert.