The Ethnic Communities Council of NSW has produced two short films in Arabic and in Punjabi languages to convey a deep message about perceptions towards domestic violence.
Inspired by the Argentinian Campaign, Cambia El Trato by the Avon Foundation about Domestic Violence, this powerful interaction depicts a son expressing to his father his concerns about the way his father treats his mother.
This digital story, produced with non-professional actors, is part of the MAV Project (Men Against Violence) created to work within a broader national approach to tackle domestic violence.
The MAV project was funded to enable ECCNSW to engage Wellbeing Connectors (WB’s) from within the Arabic and Punjabi speaking communities to work in these communities and help create positive attitudes and behaviours towards women in their own cultures, and those of other cultures.
The project trains and engages Wellbeing Connectors from Arabic and Punjabi backgrounds, as well as Tamil and Sudanese, to initiate informal conversations about men’s wellbeing. These interactions ultimately empower men to become a pipeline for change and challenge current perception towards DV in their community. This project works with CALD men who are living in Auburn, Bankstown, Blacktown and Parramatta.
The MAV project is now contributing to the research in the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022.
Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW (ECCNSW) is a non-profit member-based organisation established in 1975. It has had a long-standing commitment to representing the issues and concerns of culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
The Department of Social Services has funded ECCNSW to implement a project focusing on preventing domestic violence known as the Men Against Violence (MAV) Project.
KEY PROJECT FINDINGS
- Domestic Violence (DV) is a massive issue in all cultures.
- The majority of men, whom we engaged in our project, thought DV only involves physical acts. We were able to provide information on non-physical forms of violence and abuse through our project.
- Culturally relevant education about DV is not available for CALD communities. In this context, communication and awareness sessions are very important for preventing violence in the communities we work within this project.
- DV is a serious issue which cannot be resolved within a specified period of time and needs long-term investment in prevention.
- There is need to increase the awareness of DV issues in different cultures
- There needs to be a greater provision of materials in different languages to enable men to have a clearer understanding of DV issues
- MAV project implementation has been enhanced through an active engagement with Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), which included: site visits, zoom meetings, online interactions and attendance at interstates workshops (2 days in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne) with other projects funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.
ECCNSW is now in the process of recruiting 4 Wellbeing Connectors from Sudanese and Tamil backgrounds to engage in the implementation of the Project.
Donate To The Indian Sun
Dear Reader,The Indian Sun is an independent organisation committed to community journalism. We have, through the years, been able to reach a wide audience especially with the growth of social media, where we also have a strong presence. With platforms such as YouTube videos, we have been able to engage in different forms of storytelling. However, the past few years, like many media organisations around the world, it has not been an easy path. We have a greater challenge. We believe community journalism is very important for a multicultural country like Australia. We’re not able to do everything, but we aim for some of the most interesting stories and journalism of quality. We call upon readers like you to support us and make any contribution. Do make a DONATION NOW so we can continue with the volume and quality journalism that we are able to practice.
Thank you for your support.
Best wishes,
Team The Indian Sun
