Australian Women's Experiences Research Articles

A “RELATIVE ESCAPE”? THE IMPACT OF CONSTRAINTS ON WOMEN WHO TRAVEL SOLO

Women in contemporary Western society have increased options, resources, and opportu- nities to access a greater array of tourism and leisure choices. Yet the freedoms women have to con- sume these choices, and to access satisfying leisure and travel experiences, may be constrained by their social and gendered location as females. Leisure-based research has shown that women tend to be more highly and intensely constrained in their leisure pursuits, particularly when these activities are undertaken out of the home or in the outdoors. Little research, however, has explored how con- straints impact on women's experiences in a tourism context, especially when they travel solo. This article presents results of a qualitative, exploratory study of 40 Australian women's experiences of solo travel. In-depth interviews with these women reveal that constraints do exist and exert influence on their lives and travel experiences in a myriad of ways. Four interlinking categories of constraint were identified through a grounded approach to data analysis: sociocultural, personal, practical, and spatial. Further definition of these categories evolved, depending on where the women were situated in their travel experience (i.e., pretravel or during travel). The women's solo travel constraints will be presented and defined in this article, and practical implications for the tourism industry will also be discussed.

Australian women's experiences of living with hepatitis C virus: results from a cross-sectional survey.

Of the estimated 160000 Australians currently infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), over one-third are women and very few have received clinical treatment, with most managing their illness in non-specialist settings. Little is known about the experiences of women living with HCV in the general community. The present study provides the results from the first comprehensive social survey of Australian women's experiences of living with HCV. In 2000, a questionnaire was administered to a largely non-clinical sample of women with HCV (n = 462) living in the state of Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The questionnaire was self-administered with a return rate of 75%. The mean age was 35 years and 83% were 'current' or 'past' injecting drug users. The mean time since diagnosis was 4.6 years (SD = 4.0) and the mean time since infection was 10.5 years (SD = 8.2). Fifty-eight percent of women reported experiencing symptoms related to their HCV, the most common being tiredness (78%) and nausea (44%). Of the sample, 56% currently saw a doctor for their HCV, and while 52% had ever been referred to a specialist, only 17% of the total sample had ever begun interferon-based combination or monotherapy. Forty-eight percent of women reported experiencing less favorable treatment by a health professional because of their HCV. Age-related self-assessed health status was significantly lower than Australian norms, as were SF-12 physical and mental health scores. The SF-12 physical and mental health scores were highly correlated, indicating a significant physical and mental health burden associated with HCV. The social, physical and mental health needs of women living with HCV are considerable. Most women had not accessed specialist treatment and the response of the primary health care system to HCV-related women's health issues requires improvement.

Living with the aftermath: trauma, nostalgia and grief in post-war Australia

This very moving book on the shifting patterns of mourning and grief focuses on the experiences of Australian women who lost their husbands during the Second World War and the wars in Korea and Vietnam. The book makes use of extensive oral testimonies to illustrate how widows internalised and absorbed the traumas of their husband's war experience. Joy Damousi is able to demonstrate that a significant shift in attitudes towards grieving and loss came about between the mid century and the later part of the twentieth century. In charting the memory of grief and its expression, she discerns a move away from the denial and silence which shaped attitudes in the 1950s towards a much fuller expression of grief and mourning and perhaps a new way of understanding death and loss at the beginning of the new century.

Gender and drought: experiences of Australian women in the drought of the 1990s.

A unique collaborative, sociological study undertaken during 1995-7, explored the social construction of drought as a disaster, looking at farm families in two Australian states: Queensland (beef producers) and New South Wales (sheep/wheat producers). A decision was made to interview the women and men separately to test our hypothesis that there would be gender issues in any analysis of a disaster, but particularly one which has had so much long-term impact on individuals, families and communities, such as drought. Interviews were conducted with over 100 individuals male and female. We conclude that drought as a disaster is a gendered experience. The paper draws on the narratives of some women involved in the study to identify 'themes of difference' which confirm the necessity to maintain gender as a variable in all studies of the social impacts of disaster.

Treatment needs and experiences of Australian women with alcohol and other drug problems

Two hundred and sixty-seven women were interviewed as part of a national survey examining the treatment needs and experiences of Australian women who had received assistance for their alcohol and other drug problems. The majority of women had previously received assistance for their substance use, and of these most had left alcohol and other drug treatment programs before completion. While the women cited a number of ways in which they were helped by such services, several areas were identified by the women as important and amenable to improvement. Among the service issues raised were access, models of service delivery, service structure and staffing, physical environment, physical and psychological safety and the handling of issues such as health status and sexual assault.