Prof Sarah Wendt

Sarah is currently Professor of Social Work at Flinders University.

Prior to academia Sarah practiced in the field of domestic violence. She has taught in social work for over a decade.

Sarah has published on violence against women and social work practice. Her particular research projects explore the impact of domestic violence on women’s citizenship, service provision in the field of domestic violence, young women’s experiences of violence and abuse, and engaging men to address domestic violence.

More recently she has been researching collaboration across child protection and domestic violence sectors.

Sarah has published three books on domestic violence and over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles. She has won approximately 1.5 million in grant funding, including category 1 grants with the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Australian National Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).

Sarah as expertise in qualitative and mixed method projects addressing violence against women and has extensive history interviewing women and men about sensitive issues. She has vast experience in co-design, the development of interview schedules, ethics requirements, recruitment, protocols, and data analysis. Over her career, she has interviewed approximately 100 women about their experiences of domestic violence.

Sarah is currently Director of the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) at Flinders University. https://www.flinders.edu.au/swirls.

SWIRLS engages with complex problems that need nuanced, evidence-based responses. In doing so, members of SWIRLS embrace innovation, creativity, risk-taking, collaboration, and fresh perspectives.