AUSTRALIAN WAR WIDOWS: A CASE STUDY TO CHALLENGE PUBLIC POLICY

Abstract

This paper explores public policy in relation to war widows. The effects of public policy are rarely analysed from an individual's perspective. The paper draws on interview data to analyse the case study of a 51 year old Vietnam War widow and compares this to the experiences of six other war widows. Findings are part of a larger study on widowhood. Life histories were gained through unstructured interviews and then constructed as case studies that enabled an analysis of the relationship between the individual lived experience of the women and broader social forces that influence this. The findings suggest that women may feel differently about being categorised as ‘war widows’ in public policy and the reasons for this are varied. The paper suggests that an extension of this study be conducted to more fully explore the reasons for the differences in war widows to inform future policy review/revision.