A USC academic has been appointed the Queensland chair of White Ribbon Australia, an organisation that aims to end male violence against women and girls.

Senior Lecturer in Communication Dr Greg Nash will lead 14 committees across the State in developing strategies to counter violence, particularly domestic violence.

Dr Nash has been a White Ribbon ambassador for the past five years and started his two-year leadership role at the beginning of June.

“I want to bring a lot more attention to the domestic violence issue by raising the number of advocates within White Ribbon,” he said.

“The more supporters that we have – the more people who put their name to the prevention of domestic violence – can only have a positive impact.

“Two years gives me a good opportunity to leave a mark on how we might address these issues in a better fashion.”

Dr Nash oversees USC’s core introductory subject Communication and Thought, which looks at verbal and nonverbal communication, thinking skills and the dynamics of interpersonal and group communication. More than 4,000 students will complete this subject this year.

“USC members need to demonstrate to students that we have an ethical responsibility to look after the people in our community,” he said.

“That’s not just improving the community through research, but also through engagement activity such as social justice to improve the quality of the community as well.”

Dr Nash helped White Ribbon deliver a four-year domestic violence symposium action plan from 2016 to 2020.

- Tom Snowdon