RESEARCH REPORT Promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia. The ASPIRE Project: Final report
Although immigrant and refugee women in Australia face particular barriers to accessing services aimed at preventing and responding to family violence, the understanding of the character and context of this problem is limited.
Through research into local experiences and responses, ANROWS’s ASPIRE project aims to contribute to the development of responsive and accessible community-based interventions and increase the understanding of the nature and dynamics of violence against immigrant and refugee women in different Australian contexts.
Led by researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health and the University of Tasmania, ASPIRE asked:
- What are immigrant and refugee women’s experiences of family violence and of help-seeking in selected geographic communities in Australia?
- What are local barriers and facilitators to immigrants and refugees accessing violence prevention and support services in different settings?
- What opportunities exist for supporting community-led responses to family violence against immigrant and refugee women?
Immigrant and refugee women born in 21 different countries, as well as key informants and focus groups, from eight sites across urban and regional settings in Victoria and Tasmania participated in the research. The women interviewed about their experiences of family violence had diverse migration pathways and varied socio-economic and other circumstances. Analysis of data highlighted that immigrant and refugee women’s experiences of family violence, help-seeking and access to information and services are situated within four overarching contexts: immigration, family and community, service system and place-based.
Publication details
This work is part of the ANROWS Horizons series. ANROWS Horizons (Research reports) are in-depth reports on empirical research produced under ANROWS’s research program.
Authors
DR CATHY VAUGHAN
Senior Lecturer, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
MS ERIN DAVIS
Research Assistant, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
DR ADELE MURDOLO
Executive Director, Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health Dr Jasmin Chen, Research Assistant, Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health
DR LINDA MURRAY
Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Tasmania
DR REGINA QUIAZON
Senior Research and Policy Advocate, Multicultural Centre of Women’s Health
DR KAREN BLOCK
Research Fellow, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DEB WARR
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
ISBN: 2205-8907 (print) 2205-8923 (online)
100 pp.
Suggested citation
Vaughan, C., Davis, E., Murdolo, A., Chen, J., Murray, L., Quiazon, R., Block, K., & Warr, D. (2016). Promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia. The ASPIRE Project: Research report (ANROWS Horizons 07/2016). Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.