Dawn Onishenko

Dawn Onishenko is an ecofeminist who has been a social justice activist in the areas of gender, women in conflict with the law, anti-poverty, housing and homelessness, HIV/AIDS and queer rights. Dawn’s academic interests include social movements, citizenship and civic engagement, critical human rights, systemic discrimination, oppression and marginalization, the inherent dignity of the human person and the role of jurisgenerative politics/praxis in bringing about social change. Her current research projects explore the experiences of sexual minorities seeking refugee status in Canada; the experiences of gender and sexual minority youth in state care, specifically the child welfare and the youth justice systems; critical human rights and youth policy; and homeless youth and COVID-19.

Teaching responsibilities:

• SWP 302 - Social Welfare Policy and Programs 
• SWP 402 - Social Policy and Social Inclusion 
• SWP 335 - Power, Resistance and Change
• SWP 341 - Transformative Social Work Practice
• SK 8104 - Practice Research Seminar

 Research interests:

• 2SLGBTIQ rights, identity and liberation
• Community development and community organizing
• Anti-oppressive social work practice
• Critical pedagogy
• Qualitative research approaches

 Research projects:

• Marginalized Homeless Youth: A critical and grounded framework for understanding the impact and efficacy of policies and programs designed to support marginal youth experiencing homelessness in a time of COVID-19
• The Experiences of Gender and Sexual Minority Youth in State Care: a retrospective exploration of former child welfare/youth justice service users.
• Equal Rights Discourse: A Shifting Terrain for Sexual Minority Refugee Claimants 
• Rights for Children and Youth - Policy Analysis
• Social Work/Social Change in Neoliberal Times: Pedagogy and Curriculum for Activist Social Workers

Peer-reviewed publications:            

Articles 

• Onishenko, D. & Erbland, J. (2017). The Case of Ashley Smith: Policy Window or Policy Failure. Canadian Research in Social Policy. (76), 70-89.
• Onishenko, D. (2016). Equal Rights/Equal Marriage: Creating Spaces of Jurisgenerative Praxis. Humbolt Journal of Social Research. (38), 79-93.
• Onishenko, D. & Erbland, J. (2016). An Equal Marriage Retrospective in Two Voices: Where have ten years taken us? Sexualities. 20(3), 261-280.
• Chambers, L., Cranmer-Byng, S., Friedman, M., Njoroge, W., Onishenko, D. (corresponding author), Ross, M., Sibblis, C., Smith, K. & Westbrook, A. (2015). Redefining Borders between Communities and the Classroom: How Community-based Social Activists Can Transform Social Work Education. Engaged Scholar.
• Onishenko, D. (2012). Legislated Equality: An LGBTIQ Case Study in a Canadian Context. ADDRESSING INEQUALITIES: The Heart of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Future We Want for All. UN Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality: on-line discussion paper. http://www.worldwewant2015.org/inequalities (external link) 
• Onishenko, D. & Caragata, L. (2011). A Theoretically Critical Gaze on the Canadian Equal Marriage Debate: Breaking the Binaries. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. 21(2/3), 91-111.
• Onishenko, D. & Caragata, L. (2009). Cutting Edge Couples: Making meaning of the experience of LGBTQ couples who marry.  Equal Opportunities International: Special Issue on Equality and Same-Sex Partnerships – A Happy Marriage? 28(3), 249-266.

Publicly-reviewed publications:

Technical Reports

• Onishenko, D. (2014). AO Equity Lens: Policies and Procedures. Peel Children’s Aid Society.
• Onishenko, D. (2014). GSM Refugees in Canada: Fact Sheet #1.

Chapters

• Onishenko, D. & Erbland, J. (2022) Qualitative Critical Methodology: Exploring the Interface of Deconstructing Traditional Policy Research with Youth Voice and Art-Based Focus Groups. In Critical Reflexive Research Methodologies (Edited Book) University of Calgary Press (publication Fall 2022)
  
• Nyaga, D. & Onishenko, D. (2022). Effects of Covid-19 on homeless youth-Methodological reflections In Critical Reflexive Research Methodologies (Edited Book) University of Calgary Press (publication Fall 2022)
  
• Giuliani, M., Magomedova, A., Brochu, M., Boehm, M., Onishenko, D. (2022) Research Engagement: A reflexive conversation exploring the research process from a student perspective. In Critical Reflexive Research Methodologies (Edited Book) University of Calgary Press (publication Fall 2022)
  
• Onishenko, D. (2014). Equal Rights Discourse: Transformative Possibilities? In S. Wehbi & H. Parada (Eds.). Re-imagining anti-oppression social work: Reflecting on practice. (77-93). Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.