NTV2024

Bianca Johnston

Monash University

Bianca Johnston is a qualified Social Worker, Criminologist and a Researcher/Practitioner who is a current PhD Candidate in the Department of Social Work – School of Primary and allied Health Care, Monash University. Bianca’s PhD research is supervised by Associate Professor Catherine Flynn (Monash) and Associate Professor Faith Gordon (ANU). Drawing upon her 17+ years of direct practice experience, Bianca’s PhD examines young women’s experiences of youth intimate partner violence. Using mixed methods of creative art and qualitative interviews with young women, Bianca’s research seeks to provide a platform for young women’s voices and experiences of intimate partner violence.

Bianca is a co-author of a variety of research outputs focused on young women and in particular, has examined their intimate partner violence experiences with consideration to rural experiences, justice involvement and positioning in the broader family violence discourse. She has been published in journals including Affilia: Feminist Inquiry in Social Work and Trauma, Violence and Abuse as well as the book Marginalised Voices in Criminology.

Bianca is currently employed at the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS) where she has held a variety of roles focused on specialist responses to youth, Youth AoD, early intervention, family violence and crime prevention. She also continues to engage in direct social work practice as a casual Counsellor Advocate with CASA House. In addition to her Practice and Research, Bianca is also a self-taught visual artist whose work has featured both across a variety of exhibitions and in print.