Violence, Displacement, Protection

(March 2025) Bringing practitioners and scholars working on displacement and protection together in an academic space was powerful – allowing many services providing partners to step out of often predictable agency positions and discuss openly and creatively about extreme vulnerability in situations of forced migration and humanitarian response.

A series of events was hosted by ANU on the traditional land of the Ngunnawal and Namburi peoples that uniquely brought together international scholars from around the world, including First Nations academics and leading crisis response practitioners working in humanitarian protection, women’s, and children’s rights. The events included an ECR/HRD workshop convened by Michelle Godwin and Bina D’Costa, an interactive photo exhibition in partnership with ICRC, University of Queensland and the Myanmar Research Centre. Remarkable discussions across methodologies, the changing aid landscapes, current world crises and different responses to displacement and gender-based violence will now be taken forward and captured in various publications, short essays, and media with the view to inform research-led policy and advocacy. A network of dedicated displacement and protection specialists will be fostered moving forward, including forthcoming applicants to CEVAW’s membership. 

The series of events was convened by CEVAW Chief Investigator Professor Bina D’Costa and team Research Manager Michelle Godwin. The events sit at the intersection of several research projects supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) at the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs (ANU), led by Professor D’Costa. These projects seek to understand Children's Displacement and Humanitarian Protection in the Global South (Future Fellowship) and engage the research stream on Migration and Trafficking situations at the Centre of Excellence on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW), where a focus on the different contexts in which violence occurs is being examined. 

The workshop also drew in expertise assembled in the Visualising Humanitarian Crises: Transforming Images and Aid Policy Project, as well as support from the ANU Myanmar Research Centre (MRC) and Girls Run the World.
 

CEVAW contributors included:

• CEVAW Cis: Professors Bina D’Costa (ANU), Patrick O’Leary (Griffith)
• CEVAW Professional Staff/Affiliate: Michelle Godwin (ANU)
• CEVAW Fellows: Dr. Zoe Bell (ANU), Dr. Phyu Phyu Oo (Griffith)
• CEVAW Current Associate Investigators: Professors Rebecca Monson (ANU), Kirsten Ainley (ANU), Asmi Wood (ANU), Nick Cheesman (MRC)
• CEVAW Partner Investigators: Dr. Amporn Marddent (Thammasat University)
• CEVAW Current Affiliates: Dr. Binota Dhamai (ANU), Ms. Elayn Sammon (Independent), Mr. Anthony Nolan (International Rescue Committee), Ms. Masumi Yamashima (Tsunagu), Ms. Parboti Roy (British Colombia University)
• CEVAW Partner organisations: ActionAid Australia, Thammasat University

See the full write-up: Violence, Displacement, Protection | CEVAW.