EVERYONE DESERVES A SAFE ARRIVAL

It’s shocking to know that one in five women in Australia have experienced sexual violence, and one in three have experienced physical violence. In fact, domestic and family violence (DFV) is so prevalent that it is the leading preventable contributor to death in women aged 15 to 44*.

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are among the most at risk. They can face significant barriers to getting help including financial dependency, fear of police, language difficulties and a lack of family support.

Mounties and Triglav are pleased to have assisted Sydney based child protection charity, CAPS with the delivery of its community education program, Safe Arrival via a grant last year.

Developed in 2020, Safe Arrival is CAPS’ DFV prevention program for migrant and refugee women. Its aim is to raise awareness of DFV in a positive, non-judgmental manner and provide critical harm prevention skills for participants.

Mounties and Triglav granted CAPS with $28,000 as part of its 2022 ClubGRANTS scheme that is being used by CAPS to roll out the program this month to those in the Fairfield community.

“We are delighted to be using this generous funding to deliver two programs of Safe Arrival to recently arrived migrant and refugee women in the Fairfield community,” explained CAPS CEO, Reegan Barber.

“As part of this program we are hosting ten workshops as well as translating the program workbooks into Arabic, ensuring that as many women in the Fairfield community as possible are able to access the program,” added Reegan.

Each Safe Arrival workshop is designed to increase participants’ knowledge of DFV and build critical harm prevention skills, empowering women to seek help well before the continuation of abuse occurs.

The program covers a range of topics including settlement in Australia, the escalating nature of abuse, the impact of violence at home on children and how to create a safety plan. In addition, participants learn how to help friends or family who might be experiencing DFV, therefore spreading information about vital support services and resources across their communities.

“Through a culturally safe setting, using material provided in multiple languages, participants learn about the abuse cycle and gain knowledge on how to access support services if needed.

“The program provides support and intervention in an accessible and respectful format and helps to prevent or reduce the harm that domestic violence can cause for women and children,” concluded Reegan.

Program delivery by CAPS in the Fairfield community is currently underway, in partnership with a local organisation. CAPS expects that approximately 150 to 200 participants will attend the ten program workshops in total.