Interdisciplinary Trauma Research Network

Investigating Experiences of Sexual Violence among current and ex Catholic Women Religious 2025-2026

The aim of this project is to understand experiences and patterns of sexual violence among current and previous Catholic women religious (nuns). The project is run by Dr Kathleen McPhillips and Dr Tracy McEwan. The project will interview survivors and collect valuable data on their experiences throughout 2025.

For more information about participation and project details please click here to the project website. This project is funded by the Australia-Germany award and the Australian Theology Research Foundation.

Loud Sky 2022-2023

Loud Sky was a collaborative exhibition featuring the work of five contemporary artists who have worked with the community of survivors of institutional child sexual abuse to represent through visual arts the impacts of institutional child sexual abuse.

The exhibition was held at the Lock Up Gallery in Newcastle and  ran from 31 March to 21 May 2023 and was opened by the the Hon Peter McClellan, Chief Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

LOUD SKY features artists Lottie Consalvo, Peter Gardiner, Fiona Lee, Damien Linnane and Clare Weeks and curated by Dr Rod Pattenden and Dr Kathleen McPhillips, in collaboration with The Lock-Up and the Clergy Abused Network.

Legal Redress Seminar 2021

On 7th October 2021 a group of legal experts, in conversation with the NSW Attorney General the Hon Mark Speakman, discussed legal changes to child protection laws following recommendations from the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Specialist child abuse lawyers John Ellis and Judy Courtin were joined by Dr Tamara Blakemore from Social Work at UoN. Over 500 participants registered across Australia.

The Survivor Story Project

The podcast contains interviews with survivors of institutional child sexual abuse who were invited to tell their life story and reflect on the impacts of being abused as a child in a Church based organisation. This innovative project is funded by the Marist Bros Australia Province and is part of social justice responses to the catastrophic impacts of child sexual abuse in the Hunter Valley.

Webinar on Organised Child Sexual Abuse, December 2020

This webinar was recorded on 7 December 2020 and features five experts discussing various aspects of organised child abuse in institutional and familial settings challenging commonly held notions of this topic and investigating it from interdisciplinary perspectives. The aim of the webinar is to explore organised child sexual abuse in a broader framework and link it closely to the operations of perpetrator culture. The Webinar is chaired by Dr Kathleen McPhillips, who leads the ITRN network. View the webinar abstracts (PDF 533KB). To watch the recording, please email Dr McPhillips.

ITRN Inaugural Symposium 2018

On Monday 11^thJune 2018, 20 people gathered at Nu Space for the inaugural ITRN symposium and launch. The symposium bought together academics, advocates and clinical experts working in the field of trauma to engage in conversations across disciplines, organizations and industry to explore the possibilities for a wider, more inclusive understanding of trauma. Papers covered historical accounts of sexual violence and colonial violence, the work of the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and reflections on the current state of trauma informed care by clinicians and advocates. International experts, Professors Joanna Bourke and Wendy Kline gave the keynote presentations.