In the third instalment of our deep dive series, our community liaison officer Cheryl chats with Hala Abdelnour, founder and CEO of the Institute of non-violence, about the importance of taking an intersectional approach when supporting multi-cultural and multi-faith families experiencing family violence. Originally broadcast as a Facebook livestream on Friday 15 Jan 2021, this conversation unpacks the complexities of multi-cultural communities and intersection of family violence and the migration process.

Much like street harassment, family violence is often tied to other forms of discrimination and systemic violence. For multicultural families in Australia, family violence is often inseparable from the migration and settlement process. Migration and settlement into Australia can often be a form of trauma in and of itself and a family’s progress along the settlement process affects the way family violence is experienced. For these families, Hala sees a need to combine settlement services and family violence services in order to support them in an adequate way. 

In this livestream, Hala also talks about how the work that multicultural workers do has often been undermined in mainstream services, resulting in a lack of adequate and culturally appropriate support for families. There are complex diversities within multicultural communities, but unfortunately there is often an assumption that having a single multicultural worker, regardless of cultural background, is sufficient to provide support for families. Moving forward, Hala sees a need to fund and invest in community-led initiatives. 

Head over to the Institute of non-violence website to find out more about the work they do and read Hala’s latest report ‘Enhance Services to CALD Men Who Are Using Family Violence:

Research Consultation’.

Hala also recommends viewing this video of Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to gain a deeper understanding of intersectional feminism.