Susan Heward-Belle

Professor Susan Heward-Belle is a Professor in the Discipline of Social Work and Policy Studies at the Sydney School of Education and Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney. She earned her BSW, MSW, and PhD from the University of Sydney, with her doctoral thesis, completed in 2014, titled 'Mind the blind spot: The experiences of fathering for men who are violent to their partners.' She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Education (Higher Education). With more than 30 years of professional experience in domestic and family violence (DFV) and child protection, Professor Heward-Belle has established herself as a leader in developing evidence-based interventions to prevent violence against women, children, and young people. Her academic career at the University of Sydney includes roles such as Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor, advancing to Professor, and she has served as Director of the Master of Social Work (Qualifying) program.

Professor Heward-Belle's research specializes in coercive control tactics, perpetrator accountability, the impact of DFV on children, practitioner experiences during COVID-19, and policing strategies to disrupt DFV. Key publications include 'Until We Shift the Responsibility to Where it Needs to be, Survivors' Trauma Will Never End: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Domestic Violence Perpetrator Accountability' (Journal of Family Violence, 2025), 'Analysing the scientific literature on policing approaches to disrupt domestic violence' (Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2024), 'Practice in a Time of Uncertainty: Practitioner Reflections on Supporting Families During COVID-19 Lockdowns' (Affilia, 2022), 'Beyond co-occurrence: Addressing the intersections of domestic violence and child maltreatment' (Child & Family Social Work, 2021), and 'Exploiting the "good mother" as a tactic of coercive control' (Affilia, 2017). Her scholarship, cited over 335 times per ResearchGate, has earned her the 2019 ANZSWWER Social Work Educator Award (co-recipient). She teaches courses such as SCWK2012: Social Work with Children and Young People and contributes to funded projects on DFV interventions and child sexual exploitation disruption. Professor Heward-Belle engages in leadership through board roles, including Director at Barnardos Australia and DV West, and editorial contributions.

Professional Email: susan.hewardbelle@sydney.edu.au