The ASPIRE project: Analysing migrant and refugee women's experiences of domestic violence in Australia

SPEAKER: Dr Cathy Vaughan University of Melbourne, hosted by IRiS

Around 28% of Australians were born overseas, and many more have at least one parent who was. For several years Australian domestic violence services, housing services and others have reported that migrant and refugee women and their children face particular challenges in relation to domestic violence, but there had been limited research to inform policy and practice in this area.  The ASPIRE project sought to address this by working with migrant and refugee women who had experienced domestic violence; service providers from a range of relevant sectors (including domestic violence, settlement, law and justice, housing, and health); and diverse cultural communities living in metropolitan and regional centres across Victoria and Tasmania to generate policy-relevant evidence about the nature and dynamics of violence against migrant and refugee women in Australia.  This presentation will describe the contexts in which violence against migrant and refugee women occurs, outline the many barriers migrant and refugee women face when seeking and receiving assistance for domestic violence in Australia, and provide practical recommendations for increasing migrant and refugee women’s safety.