Parity of participation: social justice and women’s experiential knowledge in contemporary family violence policy and service development

Abstract

At a time when public participation in policy and service development is presented as progressive and innovative across many social policy areas, this article critically examines public participation and the inclusion of lived experience as potential sites for social justice. Using Nancy Fraser’s theory of social justice and parity of participation, the article explores the inclusion of lived experience within existing systems and structures of gender hierarchies. Focusing on the Australian family violence sector, the article argues that without a critical analysis of power and the systems that support inequality, the inclusion of lived experience can be tokenistic and disempowering, particularly for women who have experienced family violence. This analysis highlights the need to critically examine public participation measures and the inclusion of lived experience to ensure that there is transformational intent to disrupt power hierarchies, with implications extending beyond the family violence sector.