Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Research Report 2012 | Page 2

Executive Summary
In 2014 the Whittlesea Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities Family Violence
Project (WCFVP) achieved some major successes in its first full year of implementation.
Under the guidance and support of a proactive, action-orientated steering group, the project
delivered $20,000 of brokerage grants to support local CALD women’s groups and provided
family violence community legal education and training to 74 women from these groups. 1 in 5
women later accessed family violence support from Whittlesea Community Connections and
many reported feeling confident to support friends and family to access support services. Six
women from these groups went on to form the basis of the project’s Women’s Advisory Group, a
group established and supported to provide ongoing feedback and input to ensure the WCFVP
remains responsive to the needs of the community.
Initial consultations were held with eight local community and/or religious leaders. This resulted
in a family violence forum that attracted 110 participants from the local Chaldean community, and
plans to deliver similar forums or activities with other local faith groups.
The project explored options for providing early intervention support during the settlement
process and received handover of Victoria Legal Aid’s successful Settled and Safe program, with
a pilot to be adapted and developed with the local Iranian community in 2015.
Similar work was undertaken to explore potential models for developing a whole of school
respectful and equitable relationship program to be piloted at a local primary school. Funding to
further scope and develop this element continues to be sought.
With generous support from inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence (inTouch),
project members came together to raise the funds to pilot an Arabic-speaking Men’s Family
Violence Group. The WCFVP joined with inTouch to recruit and support two bilingual Arabicspeaking facilitators who are set to complete the Men’s Behaviour Change (MBC) facilitator’s
course at the close of 2014. To our knowledge this is the first time this has occurred in Victoria.
The successful implementation of this pilot in 2015 will provide valuable learnings for a fully
accredited Arabic-speaking MBC in the future.
2015 brings many exciting opportunities to expand each element of the project. It will also see
implementation by the WCFVP of an interrelated Our Watch 1-funded project working specifically
with the local Iranian community to design and deliver violence against women and children
prevention activities.

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Formerly the Foundation for the Prevention of Violence against Women and Children

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