Women in the South-Western Sydney region of Canterbury-Bankstown were the focus of advocacy efforts led by the Islamic Women’s Association of Australia during a roundtable discussion held at its centre in Roselands on 13 November 2024.
This event launches the association’s campaign to support awareness of domestic violence against women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly new arrivals, and women from economically dependent backgrounds.
Present at the event was Mayor Bilal El-Hayek, who affirmed his commitment to eliminating violence against women and families in Canterbury-Bankstown.
“I want to congratulate IWAA and the team for today. It (domestic violence) is an important topic.”
“We need to continue to work together as a community, (and) as government, to make sure we eliminate violence against women.”
The discussion brought difficult conversations about domestic violence to the table and highlighted the prevalence of contributing factors, such as cultural issues and gender-based economic disadvantage that can lead to women experiencing homelessness.
Senior Constable Sarah Flynn from Campsie Police Area Command discussed the NSW Police’s efforts in responding to domestic violence incidents in the community.
“There is a Domestic Violence Officer at every Command. Our primary focus is to assist the first responders who attend these domestic violence incidents, and to also liaise with agencies to spread the word about domestic violence, and to educate (the community) about domestic violence, and to also offer our victims the support they need.”
Women represent nearly 50% of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Of these, 17.1% have experienced divorce, separation, or the passing of a spouse and usually require additional financial support. Approximately 67.8% of households in the Canterbury-Bankstown region speak a language other than English at home, compared to those where English is the only language spoken.
Beengul Ali, Manager of the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support Program at IWAA, emphasised the importance of raising awareness about domestic violence against women from culturally diverse backgrounds, regardless of its sensitivities among community groups in the region.
“The objective of having this roundtable is to discuss the importance of (eliminating) domestic family violence.”
“We need to start having (conversations) about how we can start implementing strategies to help out our community.”
You can speak to team at IWAA by visiting their centre in Roselands, or by contacting them by email at [email protected]
