A scholarship is available at ANU for an outstanding domestic or international student to undertake a PhD on the topic of violence against women and displacement . The successful candidate will be enrolled full time in a program of study for the degree of PhD in the ANU Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific.

The student will also become part of a cohort of PhD scholars within the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW)

This Centre aims to transform our understanding of the problem by examining the structural drivers that cause and compound violence against women, and pioneering new, evidence-based approaches to radically improve policy and practice across Australia and the Indo-Pacific. The CEVAW network comprises 13 Chief Investigators from six Australian universities, and at least 45 Australian and international partner organisations. The Centre mobilises Indigenous and survivor-centred approaches, interdisciplinary collaborations, and Indo-Pacific partnerships to deliver scalable approaches to eliminate violence against women across the legal, security, economic, health, and political systems of Australia and the region.

Applicants with lived experience of displacement, Pasifika, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and/or other First Nations Peoples and/or those from the region are prioritised and strongly encouraged to apply.

Working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders across the Pacific regions, Asia and in Australia, this funded PhD position is supported through the Australian Research Council (ARC)CEVAWand the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, as part of the research stream on violence in the context of Migration,

Displacement and Trafficking – led by Chief InvestigatorProfessor Bina D'Costa.





The successful applicant will develop and carry out a project that aligns with the broader purpose of CEVAW, developing up the academic evidence base on violence against women and displacement.This project may include research on prevention of conflict-related sexual and gender -based violence or violence against women in the context of climate-induced disasters in the region.

The research approach is to foreground Indigenous methodologies , that empower Indigenous women and victim-survivors of violence in all research and partnerships. As well as meeting the standards for a PhD at ANU, we envisage that the thesis will provide rigorous evidence to enhance community, organisational and/or government decision-making and program implementation, such as approaches to understanding, preventing, mitigating and responding to gender-based violence and enhancing protection.

The Award will be available in 2026 or 2027 to a prospective, domestic or international student who:

- has expertise or a demonstrated interest in the elimination of violence against women in migration and trafficking situations
- has completed an Australian University Masters degree with honours (at the level honours 2A or above), or equivalent prior studies in Australia or elsewhere (for example a Bachelor degree with First Class Honours or equivalent; and Master’s degree with a significant research thesis component), and/or has relevant experience that includes a significant research component in the field of women’s public health and/or migration and trafficking.
- Applicants with lived experience of displacement, Pasifika, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and/or other First Nations Peoples and/or those from the region are prioritised and strongly encouraged to apply.

Contact us

About the application process and requirements:

About the research role and CEVAW:

(Primary supervisor)

(General inquiries about CEVAW at ANU)

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📌 PhD Scholarship: Women, Migration & Displacement (Canberra)
🏢 The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW)
📍 Canberra