Domestic violence screening and response for refugee women in settlement services:

By Jo Spangaro, Nigel Spence, Jacqui Cameron, Kelsey Hegarty, et al.

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 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.

This report finds the SAHAR intervention was effectively implemented by the settlement service providers. The relatively high disclosure rate, and high levels of acceptance of the intervention with both refugee women and settlement staff, demonstrate the feasibility of culturally tailored, universal DV screening and response in settlement services. Successful implementation of DV screening and response requires: planning and preparation, organisational commitment, training, translated tools and resources, staff support during implementation, guidelines and referral protocols.

Wollongong, AUS: University of Wollongong 2024. 34p.