2022 Premier’s Awards for Health and Medical Research winner

Associate Professor Shawana Andrews won the 2022 Premier’s Awards for Health and Medical Research for Aboriginal Researcher.

Associate Professor Andrews’ research is about the lived experience of family violence. It seeks to un-silence and elevate the lived experience of Aboriginal women, exploring the role of cultural practice as a tool of engagement, resilience and resistance.

The awards by the Victorian Government in partnership with the Australian Society for Medical Research, recognise the exceptional contributions of Victoria’s mid and early-career health and medical researchers.

Associate Professor Andrews is continuing to broaden the impact of her research, taking part in a cultural exchange with First Nations and Māori researchers in Canada (Turtle Island) this week.

The violence in the lives of Indigenous women globally has been sustained and perpetuated through generations of patriarchal and colonial subjugation. As a result, a growing and important discourse on Indigenous feminist thought explores the possibilities of Indigenous women’s polity, agency and gendered standpoint.

While Indigenous women’s feminisms vary around the world, they have a unifying feature that foregrounds Indigenous women’s gendered and cultural experiences of being in the world. Colonialism, inextricably shaped by patriarchy, uniquely positions Indigenous women worldwide in their resistance against violence.

Empirical research, conducted appropriately, can un-silence Aboriginal women’s voices.

Find out more about Associate Professor Andrews' research

Find out more about the Premier’s Awards for Health and Medical Research