Accessing the Family Violence Provision: Enhancing migrant women’s safety

Background

The Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) and the Family Violence Provision (FVP) are designed to offer some protection to temporary migrants who experience family violence. This is a legal "safety net" that enables women on a temporary partner visa to pursue a permanent residency application if their relationship breaks down due to family violence. This project will document the experiences of women who are eligible to apply for the FVP, map current service practices and outcomes as well as barriers to accessing the FVP, and investigate whether the current operation of the FVP is achieving its stated legislative intent.

Aim

This project aims to investigate the operation of the FVP (Migration Regulations 1994 [Cth]), designed to act as a safety net for women on temporary visas whose relationships break down due to family violence. This project will build the evidence base needed to detail and analyse specific issues impacting migrant women without permanent residency or citizenship, with a focus on how best to support FVP applications and to enhance their success.

Methods

This project adopts a multi-method approach.

Significance

This project will provide a new and highly valuable dataset on family violence for a significant grouping in migrant communities. In so doing, it will assist in addressing the broader knowledge gap about family violence prevalence in these communities. Critically, the analysis will bring into view how migration law and regulations operate to enhance or obstruct women’s access to safety in the context of family violence, offering an important contribution to the gendered analysis of bordering practices, as outlined above. The outcomes will offer direct benefit to the partner organisations, and to national stakeholders providing support to migrant women.

Funding Body

Australian Research Council (Project ID: LP200100372)

Funding Budget

$275,834

Project start date

July 2020

Expected completion date

June 2023