Reinterpreting the line: young Australians’ engagement with social technology for the primary prevention of gender-based violence
Creators: name: Molnar, Lena
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 440201
subject: Causes and prevention of crime
classificationCode: 440205
subject: Criminological theories

description: Recent interdisciplinary social research illustrates how social technology has increased young people’s capacities to share their personal experiences, and speak out in protest (P. Byron et al., 2017; Renold &amp; Ringrose, 2017). While recommendations within the fields of feminist media studies and the sociology of youth describe young people’s participation in social technology as a way to share feminist content and express themselves, research into Primary prevention of Violence Against Women (PVAW) has yet to give voice to how young people engage with such practices. Scholarship examining PVAW programs from Australia and abroad have broadly advocated engagement with young people as ‘agents of change’, but little support has been provided to consistently resource young people’s actions to prevent violence, such as understanding how they might use social technology to effect change (Gillum, 2014; Loney-Howes et al., 2021; Struthers, K., Parmenter, N., &amp; Tilbury, 2019). Research about primary prevention has thus far been limited in capturing the interpretations and potential of the words of the young people who get involved. Hence, there remains a gap in the research to qualitatively explore how young people engage with digital content about preventing gender-based violence. This thesis addresses this significant gap in exploring the efforts of young people in Australia who use social technology to prevent gendered violence.

This doctoral project involved a two-stage research methodology to understand the perspectives and practices of young people who engage with social technology for the primary prevention of gender-based violence. First, it provides a content analysis of key terms in discussions responding to a digital Commonwealth-funded primary prevention social marketing campaign called ‘The Line’. Second, it presents findings from nine participatory online focus groups with young people who share social media content about preventing gender-based violence. The findings of this thesis can argue that young people engage with the interactive features of social technology to share and adapt knowledge about preventing gender-based violence as acts of collective care for one another. By doing so, those messages and examples can become more accessible and applicable to many young people who wish to prevent violence before it occurs. While Australian gender-based violence campaigns are often criticised for lacking representation and inclusion (Kanai, 2020; McQuire, 2018; Moreton-Robinson, 2000), young people in this study engage with PVAW online content to address such limitations and proactively collectivise against violence. They do so through opening conversations, reflecting on their own experiences, and creating inclusive content about often challenging topics. The findings from this thesis argue that there is strength in young people’s use of social technology to influence PVAW actions and drive social change toward gender equality.