FAIR: Family violence Affecting children and young people from Immigrant and Refugee backgrounds

Background

Children are frequently victims of domestic and family violence (DFV), experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse and serious harms from violence inflicted on other family members. Approximately one third of Australia’s population were born overseas and almost half have at least one parent born overseas. Services, including police, legal, domestic and family violence, and child protection services are under-resourced to adequately meet the specific needs of children and young people from immigrant and refugee families.

Aim

This project aims to enhance the safety of refugee and migrant children and reduce long-term harms and cycles of disadvantage and inequity. The need for evidence to support migrant and refugee children who have experienced DFV is clear. Statistics indicate high prevalence of DFV across all demographic groups with children from migrant and refugee backgrounds at risk of specific harms and poorly served by current response systems. Many encounter multiple services with the potential to offer support but the limited available evidence suggests their experiences are currently suboptimal at best and put them in greater danger at worst.

Methods

This multi-component project is framed by participatory research principles and uses a mixed methods approach consisting of six stages of research:

• Systematic scoping review on current state of evidence related to migrant and refugee children’s experiences of DFV, and the services that respond to violence.
• Establishment of Stakeholder Advisory Group and Youth Advisory Group with migrant and refugee young people who have lived experience of DFV and who are engaging with the service system.
• Analysis of child protection data from Victoria to find out whether migration status of children and parents, country of birth, and language are recorded in the system; and whether children and young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds are more likely or less likely to be reported to child protection.
• In-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders including service providers from across the social services system.
• In-depth semi-structured interviews with migrant and refugee mothers with lived experience of DFV.
• Digital Storytelling project with migrant and refugee young people who have lived experience of DFV.

Significance

The project aims to contribute to an improved evidence base that supports more effective service system responses to DFV affecting children from migrant and refugee backgrounds. Implications for policy and practice relate to providing better outcomes for young people and families affected by DFV. This may look like strengthened coordination and collaboration between relevant services; more culturally responsive and evidence-informed responses; greater engagement with services by affected families; reduced fear of reporting DVF by families; more effective early interventions that reduce use of DVF against children and women; improved targeted primary prevention interventions that eliminate DFV altogether.

Funding Body

Brian M Davis Charitable Foundation

Funding Budget

$299,000

Project start date

February 2023

Expected completion date

December 2025