Abstract
Around one third of refugee women in Australia are estimated to have experienced domestic violence (DV) and many face multiple post-migration challenges. Universal screening for domestic violence, and response, is recommended for women in priority populations and has been implemented in health services across diverse jurisdictions. Universal screening for domestic violence involves asking all women a small number of standardised and validated questions about experiences of violence at home. Asking women directly about experiences of abuse increases disclosure and creates opportunity for supportive intervention. However, this is untested with refugee women accessing settlement services.
The Safety and Health after Arrival (SAHAR) study, funded by the Australian Research Council and SSI, introduced and evaluated a culturally tailored DV identification and response strategy with women accessing five refugee settlement services in NSW, Australia, four in the greater Sydney area and one regional NSW site.
In Australia, government funded settlement support programs include the Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP) which provides case-management support for refugees during the first 18 months in Australia; and the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support Program (SETS) which offers individual and group support from 18 months to five years after arrival. The SAHAR study was initially undertaken with four SETS sites. Just prior to the intervention being commenced, these providers received funding to employ DV specialist workers. Subsequently, a pilot study was conducted at one HSP service site.
Grant Number
LP190101183
Publication Details
Spangaro, J., Spence, N., Cameron, J., Hegarty, K., Koziol-McLain, J., Man, N., McMahon, T., Perry, A., Toole-Anstey, C., Walsh, J. and Zwi, A. (2024), Domestic Violence Identification and Response for Refugee Women in Settlement Services (The SAHAR Study), Research Report, University of Wollongong.