2016-09-05
Ms SPRINGLE (South Eastern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. Recently I met with two remarkable young women who have set up a not‑for‑profit organisation called African Family Services, which aims to serve the greater Victorian multicultural African community in a number of ways. African Family Services will provide services to African people who are experiencing family violence and who require general family services. It will be the only family violence service that specifically helps Victoria’s African community and will benefit from being run by members of that community and by being informed by both cultural understanding and best practice. African Family Services is keen to emphasise that it aims to work with existing services and to complement the work that is already being done.
One of the big concerns facing Victoria’s African community is that many members feel unable to approach existing services for help because of a perceived lack of cultural awareness. In many cases this is mostly an issue of perception, but the point remains that if members of Victoria’s African communities are avoiding seeking out help because of a perception they may not get culturally appropriate services, then there is clearly a gap that can be filled by an initiative such as L and L’s African Family Services.
As the Royal Commission into Family Violence made very clear, the experiences and needs of people who are part of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities are very different to those of other members of Victoria’s community. The royal commission found that the effects of family violence experienced by people from CALD communities in particular are compounded by experiences of recent migration and resettlement as well as systemic barriers to seeking and obtaining help. Members of Victoria’s African communities are also over‑represented amongst those who have suffered trauma prior to migration and during the migration and resettlement process, especially if they have arrived as refugees.
The founders of African Family Services already have extensive connections across both Victoria’s African community and social service communities and are endeavouring to grow the capacity of their organisation to meet the currently unmet needs of their community. The action I request from the minister is that she meets with the founders of African Family Services to discuss potential opportunities for the growth in their operational capacity.