Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice and Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Criminology and Justice in the School of Law and Society. She is also a Co-Leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit at UniSC. She has a PhD in Criminology and a Masters Degree in Psychology (Forensic).
Susan is also a forensic practitioner with over 26 years' clinical and research experience in the sexual violence and abuse field. Prior to moving to an academic role, she held leadership positions at Griffith University's Griffith Youth Forensic Service, focused on assessing and treating youth sentenced for serious or violent sexual offences, and at the Neighbourhoods Project, a contextual prevention initiative in Far North Queensland.
Susan's current clinical and research interests include a focus on understanding and preventing endemic sexual violence and abuse, including in Australian Indigenous communities and youth serving institutions; treatment programs for diverse populations; and on program evaluation using realist methods. She is widely consulted, and presents nationally and internationally, on prevention and intervention services. Susan is a member of UniSC’s Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sexual Aggression.
Board appointments
- Laurel Place, Board member (2019 - ongoing)
- Associate Editor, Journal of Sexual Aggression
Awards
- ANZSOC Award for Teaching Excellence 2020, awarded to the USC Criminology and Justice Teaching Team
- ANZSOC David Biles Correctional Research Award 2020, awarded to the Sexual Violence and Prevention Unit Research Team for research report: The effectiveness of sexual offender rehabilitation and reintegration programs: Integrating global and local perspectives.
- Fellow, Advance HE (Higher Education Academy), UK, 2019 - current
- Vice- Chancellor and President's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2019
- Under Susan’s leadership, the Griffith Youth Forensic Service was the 2014 Australian Crime & Violence Prevention Award national winner.
Professional Social Media
Potential research projects for HDR and Honours students
- Understanding and preventing sexual violence and abuse
- Sexual and violent offending behaviour
- Program evaluation
Research grants
|
Grant / Funding Body |
Project Name |
Investigators |
Value |
Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
University of Newcastle |
Evaluation of the ‘Name Narrate Navigate’ Pilot Program for Youth Perpetrators of Domestic and Family Violence |
Rayment-McHugh & McKillop |
$16,809 |
2021 |
|
Stop it Now! UK & US |
Assessing Future Directions for Stop It Now! in the UK, US, and Beyond |
McKillop & Rayment-McHugh |
$12,000 |
2021 |
|
Queensland Police Service |
Evaluation of the ‘JTYoutGotThis’ Program |
Rayment-McHugh & Moir |
$29,946 |
2021-2022 |
|
Dept. Children, Youth Justice & Multicultural Affairs |
Cairns Youth Sexual Violence Support Services – Evaluation |
McKillop, Rayment-McHugh, Christensen, Adams |
$142,764 |
2020-2022 |
|
Save the Children Australia |
Informing Child-Safe Practice from a Contextual Lens |
McKillop, Rayment-McHugh, Christensen |
$50,000 |
2020-2021 |
|
Daniel Morcombe Foundation |
Evaluation of Daniel Morcombe Foundations Changing Futures Project |
Christensen, Rayment-McHugh, McKillop |
$56,008 |
2020-2021 |
|
Queensland Corrective Services |
Re-Write the Sexual Offending Program Indigenous Males (SOPIM) including Practice Guidelines and a training package for staff delivering the Program |
Rayment-McHugh (project leader), McKillop, Bennett, Christensen, & Campbell |
$337,886 |
2020-2021 |
|
Queensland Police Service |
'What Works in Policing: Managing Child Sex Offenders |
Christensen, Rayment-McHugh & McKillop |
$17,625 |
2019 |
|
Life Without Barriers |
Enhancing risk assessment for preventing child sexual abuse: An evaluation of Life Without Barriers 'train the trainer' program |
Rayment-McHugh, McKillop &Christensen |
$10,451 |
2019-2020 |
|
Australian Institute of Criminology |
'LEADing evidence-informed Child Exploitation Material (CEM) Reduction' |
Rayment-McHugh, Christensen, McKillop, Moritz, Burton, Munro, Jones, Prenzler & Lacey, in partnership with Queensland Police Service |
$68,860 |
2019-2020 |
|
Queensland Corrective Services Grant Scheme |
The effectiveness of sexual and violent offender rehabilitation and reintegration programs: Integrating global and local perspectives to enhance correctional outcomes
|
Nadine McKillop, Susan Rayment-McHugh, Lara Christensen, Tim Prenzler |
A$22,271 |
2018-2019 |
|
Queensland Corrective Services |
Evaluation Framework for therapeutic interventions delivered within a forensic context
|
Nadine McKillop, Susan Rayment-McHugh |
A$33,700 |
2018 |
|
Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships |
Neighbourhoods Project |
Susan Rayment-McHugh |
A$100,000 |
2017 |
|
Commonwealth Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet |
Evidence informed prevention of youth perpetrated sexual violence and abuse: ‘Realist’ implementation and evaluation [in two Indigenous communities] (Neighbourhoods Project)
|
Stephen Smallbone, Susan Rayment-McHugh, Dimity Smith, Troy Allard, Anna Stewart, Ross Homel, Richard Wortley, Nick Tilley, Donald Findlater |
A$2,278,182 |
2013-2017 |
|
Criminology Research Council |
A comparison of individual, situational and ecological factors associated with adolescence-onset and adult-onset sexual offences against children
|
Nadine McKillop, Stephen Smallbone, Susan Rayment-McHugh |
A$48,817 |
2014-2016 |
|
Queensland Department of the Premier & Cabinet |
Preventing Youth Sexual Violence and Abuse [in two Indigenous communities] |
Stephen Smallbone, Susan Rayment-McHugh, Dimity Smith |
A$98,000 |
2012-2013 |
|
Griffith University Strategic Development Grant |
Preventing Youth Sexual Violence and Abuse [in two Indigenous communities] |
Stephen Smallbone, Susan Rayment-McHugh |
A$15,000 |
2012-2013 |
Research areas
- understanding and preventing sexual violence and abuse
- assessment and treatment of sexual and violent offenders
- endemic sexual violence
- responding to sexual violence and abuse in Australian Indigenous Communities
- place-based prevention models
- best practice clinical models for remote Indigenous community contexts
- program evaluation using a realist framework
- situational prevention of child sexual abuse
- child safe organisations
Teaching areas
- Youth Justice
- Diversity, Crime and Justice
- Punishment and Corrections
- Professional Placement
- Professional Development
- Working with Victims and Offenders
- Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., Prenzler, T., Chiu, Y., & Webster, J. (2021). The theory and evidence behind law enforcement strategies that combat child sexual abuse material. International Journal of Police Science and Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211026935
- Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., McKillop, N., Cairns, N., & Webster, J. (2021). Understanding what works in the police management of child sex offenders in the community. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X211018791
- Edwards, G., Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., & Jones, C. (2021). Cyber strategies used to combat child sexual abuse material. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 636. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.52922/ti78313
- Damiris, I., McKillop, N., Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., Burton, K., & Patterson, T. (2021). Judges’ gendered perceptions of sexual offenders: A new explanatory model. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 33, 2, 228-246.
- Morgan, S., Hanley, C., Fa’Aoso, J., Walker, C., Rayment-McHugh, S., & Adams, D. (2021). Conversations on practice in criminal justice. In Bennett, B. (Ed). Aboriginal Fields of Practice. Red Globe Press: UK.
- Rayment-McHugh, S. (2020). The uneven distribution of child sexual abuse. In. Bryce, I., & Petherick, W. (Eds). Childhood Sexual Abuse: Forensic Issues in Evidence, Impact and Management. US: Academic Press/Elsevier
- Firmin, C., & Rayment-McHugh, S. (2020). Two roads, one destination: Community and organizational mechanisms for contextualizing child abuse prevention in Australia and the UK. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 3, 2, 229-245.
- McKillop, N., Reynald, D., & Rayment-McHugh, S. (2020). (Re)Conceptualizing the role of guardianship in preventing child sexual abuse in the home. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. Published online first.
- McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., & Bojack, R. (2020). Comparing the onset of child sexual abuse perpetration from adolescence into adulthood: Are there unique risks, and what does this mean for prevention?" Child Abuse & Neglect, published online ahead of print.
- McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., Kaufman, K., Ransley, S., & Gardiner, M. (2020). Assessing child-safe culture and practices in organisational settings: A validation and refinement of Kaufman's Organisational Safety Climate Survey. Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research,theory and practice: Published online first. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2019.1692921
- McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., Smallbone, S., & Bromham, Z. (2018). Understanding and preventing the onset of child sexual abuse in adolescence and adulthood. Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice, No. 554. Australian Institute of Criminology. https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi554
- Smallbone, S., & Rayment-McHugh, S. (2017). Sexual Crimes. In. Sidebottom, A., & Tilley, N. (Eds). Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety (2nd Edition), Chapter 20. UK: Routledge.
- Allard, T., Rayment-McHugh, S., Adams, D., Smallbone, S., & McKillop, N. (2016). Responding to youth sexual offending: A field-based practice model that ‘closes the gap’ on sexual recidivism among Indigenous and non-Indigenous males. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 22, 1, 82-94.
- Rayment-McHugh, S., Adams, D., Wortley, R., & Tilley, N. (2015). ‘Think Global Act Local’: A place based approach to sexual abuse prevention. Crime Science, 4, 22.
- Rayment-McHugh, S., Smallbone, S., & Tilley, N. (2015). Endemic Sexual Violence and Abuse: Contexts and Dispositions. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 4, 2, 111-124.
- Tilley, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., Wardell, M., Smallbone, S., Smith, D., Allard, T., Wortley, R., Findlater, D., Stewart, A. & Homel, R. (2014). On being realistic about reducing the prevalence and impacts of youth sexual violence and abuse in two Australian Indigenous communities. Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts - Special Issue: Evaluation, 14, 6-27.
Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh’s specialist areas of knowledge include understanding, preventing, and responding to sexual violence and abuse. Her research focuses on evidence-informed treatment interventions for youth and adults, primary and secondary prevention initiatives, with a particular interest in contextual prevention approaches, and on program evaluation using realist methods.