Rate My Professor Bernadette Saunders

Dr. Bernadette Saunders is a Senior Lecturer and Master of Social Work (Qualifying) On Campus Coordinator in the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. She joined the department in 1996 as a sessional tutor and lecturer, and as a researcher in the Child Abuse and Family Violence Research Centre, later known as Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia (CAPRA), where she served on secondment as a Senior Research Fellow from 2007 to 2010. Prior to academia, she worked in medical social work, focusing on cancer and terminal illness, and conducted a program evaluation of a specialised home-based care foster agency as part of her MSW. Her academic qualifications include a PhD from Monash University, funded by the Australian Research Council and the Australian Childhood Foundation through an Australian Post-Graduate Award (Industry), an MSW (H1 Equivalent) from Monash, a Dip Ed from Monash, a BSW from the University of Melbourne, and a BA (Social Science) from La Trobe University. She coordinates and teaches courses such as SWM5101 Human Rights, Law and Ethics, SWK4030 Human Rights, Legal and Ethical Social Work Practice, and SWM5160 The Child in Society: Promoting Child Wellbeing and Responding to Child Maltreatment.

Dr. Saunders' research specializations encompass child abuse, family violence, children's rights, physical punishment of children, child maltreatment, child well-being, the intersection of law and disadvantaged groups, Indigenous children in out-of-home care, and law reform concerning unpaid fines and the criminal justice system. Key publications include the book 'Physical punishment in childhood: The rights of the child' (2010, with C. Goddard), 'Words matter: Textual Abuse of Childhood in the English-Speaking World, and the Role of Language in the Continuing Denial of Children's Rights' (2017, International Journal of Children's Rights), 'Ending corporal punishment in childhood: Advancing children's rights to dignity and respectful treatment' (2015, in Law in Society), and 'The impact of the Victorian infringements system on disadvantaged groups' (2014, Australian Journal of Social Issues). Her PhD examined legally sanctioned physical punishment, children's rights, and intergenerational transmission of family violence through interviews with children, parents, grandparents, and professionals. She has contributed to projects funded by the Legal Services Board, Hecht Trust, and Fred Archer Trust, presented at national and international conferences, and is frequently consulted by media on the physical punishment debate. Currently listed as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer, her work aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 16.