Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Research Report 2012 | Seite 10

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There is considerable support in the literature for targeting prevention and intervention strategies at
children and young people as a distinct sub-group with school based programs aimed at preventing
violence and promoting respectful relationships having the strongest evidence base for effective
primary prevention work.
The special vulnerability of women without permanent Australian residency status receives
particular attention as does the importance of group work and other efforts to reduce CALD
women’s vulnerability arising from social and community isolation.
A ‘bystanders’ approach to primary prevention is singled out as having potential for reducing
violence against women. Within this context, the literature supports interventions aimed at building
community and religious leaders’ understanding of family violence and supporting them to respond
appropriately and effectively to family violence within their communities.

An Integrated Approach to Family Violence in the City of Whittlesea
The experience of family violence within CALD communities is multi-layered and complex. This
complexity demands that, in order to to break the cycle of family violence and empower
communities to prevent violence against women, an appropriate mix of prevention and early
intervention strategies be adopted.
This report recommends the establishment of a Steering Committee to oversee the implementation
of all elements of an integrated model for delivering early intervention and prevention responses to
CALD communities in the City of Whittlesea.
The overarching aim of an integrated model should be to support CALD communities, newly
arrived migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, to break the cycle of family violence and empower
communities to confront and respond to the challenge of preventing violence against women. The
model will address:

The Empowerment of CALD Women
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CALD women’s isolation by increasing social connectedness through participation in groups.
The connections that women gain through group programs are vital to enabling women to
access information about their rights and services and increase their confidence to seek and
obtain support.

Building the Capacity of Community and Religious Leaders
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Community and religious leaders’ response to disclosures of family violence and the
information and assistance they give to CALD men and women has a critical role to play in
determining outcomes for CALD women experiencing family violence. The model will increase
the capacity of community and religious leaders to respond both to individual disclosures of
family violence in their communities and to address family violence in their communities at a
broader level.

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