The safety of women and children experiencing family violence has become increasingly prominent in both the Australian and Victorian government policy agendas since the mid-1990s. The challenge is where money can best be directed to help address this problem and how to show that intervention measures have been successful
Libby Maynard, a partner at Julian Midwinter & Associates, a strategic practice development consultancy focussing on professional service firms, has won the 2011 Fulbright Professional Business/Industry Coral Sea Scholarship. This Fulbright scholarship was established by former U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler and U.S. companies to recognise the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea and address business and industry issues common to Australia and the U.S.
Through her Fulbright, Libby will visit think tanks and non-profit organisations in Washington DC and New York, as well as the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington DC and the Department of International and Public Affairs at George Mason University in Virginia. She will spend up to four months studying methodologies for measuring the social impact of community legal services for women experiencing family breakdown and violence and explore whether partnering with other services enhances social outcomes.
“Good practice interventions can make enormous differences in women’s lives. Providing financial support for these interventions is essential. As the demands placed on government funding increase, more reliance is being placed on private philanthropic and corporate support,” Libby said.