ASPIRE: A multi-site community-based participatory research project to increase understanding of the dynamics of violence against immigrant and refugee women in Australia

Abstract

BackgroundOne in three women around the world are or have been subjected to violence. This includes in Australia, where violence against women is an urgent public health and human rights issue. Immigrant and refugee women who have resettled in Australia are known to face barriers accessing services aimed at preventing and responding to family violence. However there is little evidence about the contexts, nature and dynamics of violence against immigrant and refugee women to inform appropriate responses to enhance their safety and well-being. The ASPIRE project will address this gap by identifying opportunities for the development of responsive local and community-based interventions for family violence against immigrant and refugee women, contributing to the currently limited Australian research in this area.Methods/DesignThis participatory research project will work with communities in eight geographic locations (two inner-city, three outer-suburban, and three regional) across two states (Victoria and Tasmania), to generate evidence about immigrant and refugee women’s experiences in a range of settings. The project will engage stakeholders and communities through extensive consultation prior to data collection and by facilitating community members’ participation in generating and analysing data. A mix of qualitative methods will be used to generate rich data about the family, cultural and place-based contexts that shape the prevalence and dynamics of violence against immigrant and refugee women; women’s prevention and help-seeking efforts; and community attitudes about and responses to violence across a range of cultural groups. Methods include in-depth interviews with women who have experienced family violence, key informant interviews with local community service providers, focus group discussions with men and women from predominant cultural groups that have migrated to areas covered by the research sites, and Photovoice with community leaders. Bilingual health educators will contribute to development of the research approach, the collection and analysis of data, and the dissemination of findings.DiscussionFindings from this two-year study will be disseminated to communities, service providers and policy-makers, providing evidence to inform culturally-appropriate prevention and support interventions, and building local communities’ awareness and capacity to respond to violence against immigrant and refugee women.

The MuSeS project: a mixed methods study to increase understanding of the role of settlement and multicultural services in supporting migrant and refugee women experiencing violence in Australia

“…As with Australian-born women, migrant and refugee women now living in Australia are known to experience high levels of family, sexual and other forms of violence [1, 2]. While many women who experience violence find it difficult to access support, there is substantial evidence to suggest that women who have resettled in Australia face a range of additional barriers that undermine access to violence-specific services [3–9]. These include women’s visa status, language and other communication barriers, lack of awareness of legal rights and of violence-specific services, reluctance to engage with authorities, and social isolation.…”

“…The MuSeS (Multicultural and Settlement Services supporting women experiencing violence) project will build on our previous research with migrant and refugee women from over twenty countries [3, 4]. This research has documented the nature, dynamics and context of family violence against migrant and refugee women, explored women’s help seeking, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of violence-specific service responses.…”

“…This research has documented the nature, dynamics and context of family violence against migrant and refugee women, explored women’s help seeking, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of violence-specific service responses. We have previously found that action was required to strengthen links between violence-specific services and agencies primarily working with migrant and refugee populations, such as settlement and multicultural services [3, 12]. Our previous research has also highlighted the need to engage with specialist refugee mental health services (a specific sub-set of settlement and multicultural services) to increase understanding about the interaction between refugees’ mental health and experiences of family violence.…”

“…Migrant and refugee women’s experiences of family violence are situated at the intersection of conditions linked to social constructions of gender, race, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, family and class. As a result, migrant and refugee women’s experiences of domestic and family violence, and of help-seeking, can manifest in different ways due to the confluence of individual circumstances, life experiences and policy, social and legal contexts [3, 4, 9, 15, 16]. These contexts include, but are not limited to, experiences of racism, discrimination, social isolation, precarious visa status and the absence of citizenship rights, and prior experiences of war and persecution.…”

“…Migrant and refugee women’s lives are shaped by the intersection of relations of power that arise from these multiple social and identity positions, and the structural and social disadvantages these positions carry. Recognition of these dynamics of power and social inequalities informs our analysis of how settlement and multicultural services can best respond to women experiencing violence, and reinforces that a ‘gender lens’ is necessary but not sufficient [3, 15, 16].…”