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Immigrant Women's
Domestic Violence Service
GPO Box 2905
Melbourne 3001
Ph: 9898 3145 public line
Ph: 8415 1712 admin line
Fax: 9898 1049
Email: iwdvs@infoxchange.net.au |
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Direct Service
The Immigrant Women’s Domestic Violence Service provides:
Telephone Intake Service Monday to Friday 9:15 am to 5:15 p.m. on . Links to interpreter services.
Provides culturally sensitive risk assessment, information, support, advocacy and referral to women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in situations of domestic violence.
Risk Assessments and Safety Planning
For culturally and linguistically diverse women who require more intensive support, an Immigrant Women’s Domestic Violence Service’s cultural support and advocacy worker who speaks the client’s language can arrange to meet with the client personally at a location that is convenient and safe for her. The IWDVS cultural support and advocacy worker will conduct a culturally sensitive risk assessment and will work with the client to develop a personalized safety plan which will best serve her needs, this involves:
- Listening to the client’s fears and concerns and assessment of the risks to her safety
- Listening to what the client wants to do and assisting her to make a safety plan that is best for her and her children.
- Accompanying clients to Court to apply for protection orders
- Accompanying clients to appointments with lawyers
- Organize counseling for clients
- Assisting clients to organize assistance for violent family member
- Linking to sensitive cultural community and religious leaders.
Legal Advocacy
Provides legal advocacy and referral for women and children who experience domestic violence.
Access to IWDVS Migration Agents for women without permanent residency.
Secondary Consultation
Consultation for workers: culturally specific information, overcoming barriers to engaging culturally and linguistically diverse communities, referral to culturally appropriate and domestic violence trained community and religious leaders. Assistance to develop support groups. Migration Agent Assistance. Planning community education activities for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Professional training
Professional Development Training in issues of domestic violence and violence against women in a context of cultural diversity for mainstream service providers, professionals and criminal justice system personnel.
Community Education and Outreach
Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities to raise awareness and improve responses to domestic violence. IWDVS believes that Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities have an important role in preventing family violence. Ethnic specific communities must be fully engaged in partnerships with government, the courts, police mainstream service providers and specific services like IWDVS
Community education to community groups including schools and institutions of higher education.
Developing multilingual community education materials.
Local, National and International Advocacy
Systemic and individual advocacy for CALD women and children to access community, police and justice services in order to achieve safety and well being.
Policy development and research.
Migration Agents to assist women without permanent residence.
CO-CASE MANAGEMENT
As a statewide service IWDVS responds to requests for service from all over the State of Victoria. Our aim is to provide cultural support and advocacy for women and children (o from culturally diverse backgrounds. Case management is particularly relevant in providing assistance to clients with a complex range of needs, who require access to a broad range of services and different forms of assistance. Most clients need and use a wide range of services including housing, income, health, employment, education and training. Some SAAP services such as referral services or clearing houses may begin the case management process by carrying out a detailed assessment in order to decide on the most appropriate referral. Case management is then continued by the service to which the client is referred. IWDV conducts and assessment with the client and then communicates the cultural and advocacy needs of the clients to service partners. A case plan is made is then made in partnership.
IWDVS works in conjunction with refuges and associated domestic violence services in providing support for women experiencing domestic violence. Referrals may come from the following sources:
- Refuges: the refuge worker assesses that specific cultural and linguistic support is needed for a client; or a woman in refuge specifically asks for IWDVS involvement.
- Outreach services: the outreach worker assesses that specific cultural and linguistic support is needed for a client; or the client in the outreach service specifically asks for IWDVS involvement.
- Other services: when it is assessed that a woman is eligible for IWDVS services, a worker may refer the case to IWDVS.
Direct referral: a call is received from a woman in crisis on the public phone line. A crisis assessment is to ascertain the next step that she would like to take. She may be referred to a refuge through WDVCS or to an outreach service. In either case, IWDVS will work in conjunction with the relevant service to provide co-case management for the woman.
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