ELSIE CONFERENCE

15-16 MARCH 2024

UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY

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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HELPING WOMEN & CHILDREN ESCAPE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The story of Australia's first women's refuge is one of grit and hope. And its legacy is one that deserves celebration and recharged commitment.

Join us for a historic conference celebrating 50 years since the establishment of Elsie Women’s Refuge, and the start of the women’s refuge movement in Australia.

JOIN THE CELEBRATION

Hosted by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the Elsie Conference will bring together refuge and shelter workers, advocates and organisations, researchers and public policymakers and anyone interested in reducing domestic violence. The conference aims to provide a national platform for attendees to celebrate the past and discuss emerging challenges.

Together we will:

Celebrate the history and achievements of the women’s refuge/shelter movement.
Shine a light on domestic violence and discuss how it's changing.
Explore how we need to respond and reset to meet new challenges.
Recognise the special issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, multicultural women and other high-risk groups.
Honour the work of the thousands of women who have worked in women’s refuges and shelters for the past half-century with our Elsie Awards.

EXPLORE THE PROGRAM

The Conference

ELSIE'S ORIGINS & LEGACY

From its founding on 16 March 1974 by an intrepid group of feminists who declared squatters’ rights to secure space for a shelter in inner-city Glebe, to the proliferation of refuges and shelters across the nation, it cannot be denied that Elsie Women’s Refuge sparked a movement.

There are now over 800 refuges and shelters — in our biggest cities and our smallest rural towns — that provide emergency shelter and practical support for women and children escaping family and domestic violence.

50 years on, we have much to celebrate, but there is much to do. Recent research has revealed that Australian women are still being forced to choose between staying in a violent relationship or risking poverty for themselves and their children. Join us to examine the current challenges we're facing and explore what we can do differently.