Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Research Report 2012 | Page 60
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The literature and the primary research provide examples of CALD women encountering attitudes
within their own communities that are unsupportive and which encourage actions that potentially
put them at greater risk of violence such as returning to a violent relationship (Justice Institute of
British Columbia, 2007).
There is support in the literature for interventions aimed at building community and religious
leaders’ understanding of the nature of family violence with the aim of encouraging leaders to
respond to individual disclosures of family violence with support and assistance (Runner et al, 2009,
Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2007) and to change attitudes within their own communities by
acknowledging and condemning violence (Runner et al, 2009).
Interventions that provide community and religious leaders with the skills and confidence to respond
appropriately to disclosures of family violence are important because the research shows that lack of
knowledge about how to intervene and the perception that intervention would be ineffective
present obstacles to taking action (Powell, Dr.A, 2011 p.21). It is observed in the evaluation of the
Northern Interfaith Relationships Project, and confirmed by the responses provided by the
community and religious leaders interviewed for the scoping exercise, that there is a need to build
the capacity of religious leaders to respond appropriately to disclosures, for example, by making
referrals to external agencies (Holmes, S., 2012, p.52). Other recommendations for future capacity
building in faith communities that come out of the project evaluation include the importance of
identifying and targeting those individuals who are most likely to be able to act as agents for change
and encouraging partnerships between community and other organisations and faith organisations
(Holmes, S., 2012, p.55). The responses from the religious and community leaders interviewed for
the scoping exercise indicated a high level of receptiveness to participating in education about family
violence and engaging with local organisations.
The ‘Religion and Family Harmony Project’ from Western Sydney provides an example, drawn from
the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse ‘best practice’ database, of a partnership
project aimed at engaging and educating community and religious leaders about family violence and
its impact on their communities. 64 A reported outcome of the project was a noticeable shift in
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