FAIR - Family violence affecting children from immigrant & refugee backgrounds
Project Details
Children are frequently victims of DFV, experiencing physical, emotional and sexual abuse and serious harms from violence inflicted on other family members. Approximately one third of Australia’s population were born overseas and almost half have at least one parent born overseas. Services, including Police, legal, domestic and family violence, and child protection services are under-resourced to adequately meet the specific needs of children and young people from immigrant and refugee families.
This project is exploring the impacts of exposure to domestic and family violence (DFV) on children and young people from immigrant and refugee families with the goal of informing service system responses.
This Project aims to improve the safety of children and reduce long-term harms and cycles of disadvantage and inequity. The need for evidence to support immigrant and refugee children exposed to DFV is clear. Approximately one third of Australia’s population were born overseas and almost half have at least one parent born overseas. Statistics indicate high prevalence of DFV across all demographic groups with children from immigrant and refugee backgrounds vulnerable to specific harms and poorly served by current response systems. Many encounter multiple services with the potential to offer support but the limited available evidence suggests their experiences are currently suboptimal at best and put them in greater danger at worst.
The project will generate much needed evidence to support service providers and policymakers in multiple sectors (including early-childhood, health, education, family violence, multicultural, justice and child protection) to respond more effectively and appropriately to experiences and circumstances of immigrant and refugee children and young people.
Researchers
Collaborators
MYAN (Multicultural Youth Advocacy Services)
Australian Childhood Foundation
Funding
Brian M Davis Charitable Foundation