MIGRANT WOMEN’S EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICE Inc.

1. MIGRANT WOMEN’S EMERGENCY SUPPORT SERVICE Inc. The Immigrant Women’s Support Service provides a domestic violence and sexual assault service response to immigrant and refugee women of non-English speaking background and their children. Operating as Immigrant Women’s Support Service By Cecilia Barassi-Rubio Director, Immigrant Women’s Support Service

2. Today’s presentation is about the findings of a small research projecton resistance and resilience and immigrant and refugee women conducted by Isabel Ball, a Psychology student from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon on behalf of the Immigrant Women’s Support Service in Brisbane, Queensland. This version of the research project includes additional information from annual reports and anecdotal information.

3. Why women come to Australia • Marriage • Escaping from political conflict their homeland • Tourism • Employment • Education • Family reunion

4. What are some of the settlement challenges? • Acculturation – learning, adjustments, stressors, tensions, challenges and benefits of moving from one culture to another • Social isolation • Discrimination • Lack of resources • Violence • (Yakushko & Morgan-Consoli, 2013)

5. Violence against women - a global epidemic A World Health Organization report described violence against women as “a global epidemic”. The report found that 35% of women around the world have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse by an intimate partner or non-partner. (World Health Organization, 2013)

6. Violence against women of non-English speaking backgrounds The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 recognises that domestic violence and sexual assault are the most pervasive forms of violence experienced by women in Australian society. The National Plan also acknowledges that some groups of women experiencing violence will have limited access to services or have specific needs. Women from non-English speaking backgrounds are included in these groups. Women from non-English speaking backgrounds can experience a double power imbalance as women in a male-dominated society and as members of non-dominant cultural groups.

7. Celebrating resistance and resilience The day to day acts of resistance often go unrecognised by perpetrators, third parties, and by the women themselves, and are rarely appreciated for the strength required of the person experiencing the violence. Identifying, acknowledging, and celebrating the way immigrant and refugee women have resisted violence and demonstrated resilience throughout life challenges can be a constructive way for generating and promoting more meaningful relationships between women accessing support services and service providers.

8. Resistance Women who have lived through domestic violence and/or sexual assault are often labelled as “victims.” The use of the word “victim” to describe a woman who has experienced domestic violence or sexual assault is often interpreted by society to mean that the women have been helpless and passive in stopping the perpetrator’s abuse. This view however fails to recognize the many acts of daily resistance that women utilise against the perpetrators of violence. (Weaver et al., 2007; Warner, Baro & Eigenberg, 2004)

9. Resilience Women’s resilience may include spoken or unspoken acts that attempt to stop, reduce, or prevent violence. (Weaver et al., 2007) A person’s resilience can be seen in two parts: externally and internally. Both parts of resilience contribute to a person’s capacity to survive in the face of adversity. (Norman, 2000) External forms of resilience - maintaining positive close relationships to family, friends, or community members. Internal forms of resilience - occur at a personal level e.g. having a sense of purpose, sense of competence, utilising humour and empathy, adapting to ones circumstances and environment, and demonstrating ability to socially problem solve. (Norman, 2000; Humphreys, 2003).

10. Cultural and Individual Differences inResilience Singh analysed a diverse set of psychology studies on human resilience and noticed that western definitions of resilience typically emphasised individual personality traits at a personal level. However, for immigrants from countries that identify with collectivist cultures this individualistic approach to resilience may disregard culturally specific values (Singh, 2009)

11. Identifying Resistance Women’s resistance to violence may take the form of: • Physical • Verbal • Psychological • Non-resistance

12. Physical resistance In a study that surveyed the commonality of these resistance strategies among 26 female offenders who had previously been in abusive relationships, 41% of the women reported having resisted physically. (Cobbina, 2012). In the Campbell, Kub, Nedd, and Rose study, approximately 50% of the 32 women interviewed used physical resistance to violence. (Campbell et al., 1998; Cobbina, 2012) At IWSS we are aware of women who have physically resisted violence from the perpetrator; however, this resistance instead of being understood as an act of self-defence/protection is construed as an act of violence or mutual combat.

13. Verbal resistance The types of verbal resistance used included threatening, crying, begging, yelling, and trying to reason with their perpetrator. (Cobbina, 2012) 30.8% of the 26 women who sought support from IWSS verbally resisted a perpetrator at least once.

14. Psychological resistance Characterized as playing tricks on or engaging in mind games with the perpetrator. Psychological resistance was used by 14% of the 26 women who participated in the Cobbina study. (Cobbina, 2012) There were no explicit examples of psychological resistance in the IWSS file review; however efforts by the women to please the perpetrator to prevent further violence may be considered a form of psychological resistance by giving the perpetrator a sense of total power.

15. Resisting violence by not resisting The form of resistance that is perhaps the most overlooked is ‘not resisting,’ - a conscious decision made by the woman, therefore constituting a form of resistance. (Campbell et al., 1998) The 16% of women who reported to have not resisted to the physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated against them in Cobbina’s study did so in order to protect themselves from being killed or injured with a weapon. (Cobbina, 2012) A form of ‘not resisting’ that responds to verbal, emotional, and/or psychological abuse from a perpetrator was identified in another study as a woman’s proactive decision to subordinate herself. Women chose to subordinate themselves in different ways in order to avoid escalating verbal or physical violence from their partners which could ultimately lead to more harm. In the IWSS file review, 38.5% of the 26 women took legal action to reduce, prevent, or stop a perpetrator’s violence.

16. Resistance helps nurture women’s resilience Although some women found certain methods of resistance unsuccessful, their ability to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions relative to their context and readjust accordingly demonstrates their problem-solving abilities. (Campbell et al., 1998) Although we cannot assert from the IWSS file review what exactly motivated the women to seek support from the service, it may be possible to infer that 46% of women self-referring may have evaluated past actions and sought external support as a problem-solving strategy when other attempts had been assessed as unsuccessful by the women. Courage was necessary for these women to resist, and when their efforts were successful, these women reported experiencing a feeling of control. Their ability to evaluate and strategically execute resistance tactics in stressful and changing circumstances are qualities of internal resilience possessed by survivors of violence. (Warner et al., 2004) Resistance helps nurture women’s resilience in the form of gaining a sense of self-worth and competence, as well as demonstrating their ability to adapt to challenging circumstances (Warner et al., 2004)

17. In a qualitative case study that analysed the migration and adjustment stories of eight immigrant women in the US most women highlighted that their inner strength came from their relationships with other women in their community and family that they could connect with on a cultural and/or religious level. Many of the customs, traditions, and celebrations that were culturally and/or religiously based, as well as passed down in the family, gave them a sense of comfort and value as a member of society. (Yakushko & Morgan-Consoli 2013) 34.6% of the women accessing support from IWSS expressed enjoyment of a particular activity that gave them purpose, helped them cope, and/or gave them a sense of competence. These activities provided them with internal resilience that ultimately served as tools to survive in the face of adversity. (Humphreys, 2003) Women who have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual abuse already possess a remarkable amount of resilience that deserves to be recognised as an empowering trait with the potential for even more growth.

18. Internal Resilience Despite the stressors that immigrant women face, many of the women in Yakushko and Morgan-Consoli’s study recognised that learning how to manage and adapt to these challenges overtime gave them a sense of accomplishment and strength. The process of learning the norms, resources, and systems of a new culture relevant to the gender roles of these immigrant women encouraged and elicited their abilities to socially problem-solve, adjust to change, and rely upon themselves as factors of their internal resilience (Warner et al., 2004). The IWSS file review identified 7.6% of the women sourced accommodation resources by themselves. The IWSS file review found that during and prior seeking support from the service • 30.8% reported having been or being students • 46.2% were employed or were actively seeking employment This is despite the stressors brought about by dealing with abuse and by having uncertainty about their immigration status in Australia.

19. External resilience Yakushko and Morgan-Consoli’s case study also identified several external resilience factors as crucial to helping the immigrant women manage the stressful adaptation to a new country. Most women highlighted that their inner strength came from their relationships with other women in their community and family that they could connect with on a cultural and/or religious level. (Yakushko et al., 2013) Of the 26 women who accessed support from IWSS and were included in this file review • 34.6% requested and were provided assistance to connect culturally • 80.8% requested and were provided with culturally specific services

20. All women (past and current) accessing IWSS are provided with culturally specific services; therefore the cultural connections are obviously very important as the women choose to access a service that provides culturally sensitive services. An IWSS women’s group activity conducted in 2011 resulted in art work produced by the women entitled Embracing. The women created images of women as they would like to see them. The main themes resulting from this activity were ‘strong’, ‘connected to others’, ‘supportive’, ‘free’ and ‘happy’. Several pictures were taken by the women which were transferred to a big canvas in which the women printed words such as ‘support’, ‘happiness’, ‘freedom’, ‘love’, ‘strength’ and ‘trust’.

21. Many of the customs, traditions, and celebrations that were culturally and/or religiously based, as well as passed down in the family, gave the women a sense of comfort and value as a member of society. (Yakushko et al., 2013) Many women accessing support from IWSS report participating in ethno-specific celebrations. Some women have report being involved in voluntary work with ethno-specific and/or multicultural organisations and groups. A study conducted in 2013 located the importance of spiritual support and interpersonal relationships in the recovery of 37 women between the ages of 22 to 64 who had survived domestic violence. Spirituality, regardless of how it was practiced or what denomination it derived from, was said to have given 31 of the participants a sense of purpose and value that continued evolving during their recovery from abuse. For those who joined formally organized religious institutions, nineteen expressed that these communities gave them emotional support and strength, particularly in the aftermath of the abuse. (Anderson, Lynette, & Danis 2013 Some of the women who have been past clients of IWSS have reported actively participating in religious/spiritual activities. Some women have asked to be connected to churches and other religious or spiritual groups. In some instance, women have asked for the intervention of spiritual/religious leaders in an attempt at getting support to stop the abuse.

22. The twenty-six participants who acknowledged the support of their families explained that their support and intervention did not usually come until after the women had decided to leave her perpetrator. The women emphasized how in the first two years the close relationships with family, friends, and employers were crucial to building the courage to leave their perpetrators and create their own abuse-free lives without feeling isolated. (Anderson et al., 2013) 57.7% of the women in the IWSS file review reported having received emotional and/or material support from their friends and family members. Community resources such as domestic violence and counselling services were found to be helpful to most women who accessed them looking for housing and ways to heal from trauma. (Anderson et al., 2013) Feedback from women accessing IWSS in the past and prior the file review indicate that women have found the service helpful. Some of the feedback includes: • Thank you for making me feel worthy • Great support service • The service helped me and my children to get our lives back on track • If it wasn’t for your support I would have been dead by now • I made the right decision to seek help…as I am convinced my situation would have worsened • The workers were caring and understanding of different cultural backgrounds In constructing violence-free lives, spiritual, cultural, and intrapersonal support systems were essential external resilience factors that helped them heal and gain confidence in life after domestic violence. (Anderson et al., 2013; Yakushko et al., 2013)

23. Concluding remarks The small research project on resistance and resilience in immigrant and refugee women is the first stepping stone towards acknowledging, celebrating and building on the many efforts women make to live a life free of violence. Despite settlement challenges and systemic barriers immigrant and refugee women accessing support services from IWSS demonstrate similar examples of resilience and resistance as their counterparts who participated in research studies overseas. Due to the many limitations of the IWSS research project, obviously we cannot draw any definite conclusions, but this piece of work at least gives us some idea of how women’s resistance to violence nurture their resilience and this may explain how women survive dreadful situations of abuse. Having a better understanding of women’s resistance to violence, in any of the forms resistance may take, is helpful in safety planning with immigrant and refugee women as this information give us an understanding of why and what women prioritise in relation to their safety. It is also hoped the information gathered through the IWSS research project is helpful to service providers who may not have expertise in providing services in the areas of domestic violence and sexual violence to help them better understand and respect women’s decision-making processes. Finally I hope the IWSS research project generates interest for further research into this topic as the research on violence and immigrant and refugee women is very limited in Australia.

24. References Anderson, K. M., Renner, L. M., & Danis, F. S. (2012). Recovery: Resilience and growth in the aftermath of domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 18(11), 1279-1299. doi: 10.1177/1077801212470543 Campbell, J., Rose, L., Kub, J., & Nedd, D. (1998). Voices of strength and resistance: A contextual and longitudinal analysis of women's responses to battering. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13(6), 743-762. doi: 10.1177/088626098013006005 Cobbina, J. E. (2013). Victimization and resistance strategies among female offenders. Deviant Behavior, 34(6), 464-482. Humphreys, J. (2003). Resilience in sheltered battered women. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 24(2), 137-152. doi: 10.1080/01612840305293 Norman, J. (2000). Constructive narrative in arresting the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder. Clinical Social Work Journal, 28, 303-319. Singh, A. A. (2009). Helping South Asian immigrant women use resilience strategies in healing from sexual abuse: A call for a culturally relevant model. Women & Therapy, 32(4), 361-376. doi: 10.1080/02703140903153229 United Nations. World Health Organization. Global and Regional Estimates of Violence against Women: Prevalence and Health Effects of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-partner Sexual Violence. Geneva: WHO Document Production Services, 2013. Print. Warner, K. (2004). Stories of resistance: Exploring women's responses to male violence. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy: An International Forum, 16(4), 21-42. Yakushko, O. (2013). Gendered stories of adaptation and resistance: A feminist multiple case study of immigrant women. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. doi: 10.1007/s10447-013-9191-y

25. The Immigrant Women’s Support Service is funded by the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to provide the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Service. Emergency relief funding is provided by FAHCSIA.