newsletter - Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing House

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10 PRACTICE NOTES ‘Opening Closed Doors’ project in Sydney’s Jewish community by Roberta Freedman, Program Manager Family and Children’s Service, JewishCare, and Rochelle Braaf, Clearinghouse Senior Research Officer About JewishCare JewishCare is a non-government organisation, providing welfare services to the Jewish community of NSW. Contact: phone: 1300 133 660, PO Box 647, Bondi Junction NSW 1355. Raising public awareness of domestic violence, gaining support of community leaders to encourage disclosure and referral to domestic violence services, and providing relevant information and support to victims of violence is a challenging, long term project in any community. These tasks can be more complex in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups, such as the Jewish community in Sydney, which is multi layered and comprises many different language groups and levels of religious belief. To address these issues, JewishCare ran the Opening Closed Doors project in 2007-08 in Sydney’s Jewish community, a one-year community development project, funded by the Office for Women, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. JewishCare sought to raise awareness about domestic and family violence, and sexual assault in a culturally sensitive way, in diverse parts of the Jewish community, and to enable women facing domestic and family violence to find appropriate professional help when they need it. Prior to the Opening Closed Doors project, JewishCare’s experience of working on these issues indicated that many Jewish people do not accept that there is domestic and family violence or sexual assault in their community. Even among those who agree that it does exist, there is a level of denial and surprise as to the extent or seriousness of the violence, and a professed lack of confidence in Workshop with Rebbitzen (wives of Rabbis) who are key sources of information in the Jewish community. how to help someone experiencing such violence. There are strong family and community values that prevent some members and groups from accessing mainstream domestic and family violence prevention services and general community education about these issues. There are also cultural concepts and values that may prevent a woman telling others of her experiences, such as ‘shame’ and that the role of the wife is to ‘keep peace in the home’ (‘shalom bayit’). In addition, the project faced complex requirements to not just raise awareness about domestic and family violence but also to educate about how to respond, what might be helpful for women, children and families affected by violence, what is culturally appropriate and more likely to be accepted. In addition, JewishCare needed to harness community development principles, as well as cultural and religious knowledge, for the project to be effective. Innovative strategies The Opening Closed Doors project represents an innovative community development approach, aiming to reach cultural and religious leaders in the different parts of the community and to encourage people affected by domestic violence to seek help. There were many different components of the project, including 26 community events held during February - March 2008. The project staff: •conducted a community survey in the Jewish community in Sydney of understanding and awareness of domestic and family violence, and sexual assault •designed, printed and distributed a culturally appropriate pamphlet and card with information about domestic and family violence, and healthy relationships and where to get help •conducted workshops for non-Jewish professionals, such as hospital social workers, psychologists, local welfare agencies, police and legal professionals, to provide training about the cultural and religious issues which may stand in the way of a woman seeking help •conducted workshops on healthy relationships in four Jewish schools for years 10, 11 and 12, attended by approximately 360 students •ran self-defence classes for women including mothers and daughters, people with disabilities and older women •engaged a speaker from Jewish Women International, Deborah Rosenbloom, who led many of the workshops. Inviting an international speaker highlighted the professional nature of the project and attracted considerable media attention for all the events she was involved with and for the project as a whole newsletter 36
11 www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au Rabbis attending training sessions •established a Taskforce comprising female cultural and religious leaders; e.g. two Rebbitzen (wives of Rabbis), a magistrate, local professionals, and women in high community involvement and leadership roles. In terms of successful outcomes, JewishCare established partnerships with other organisations, for example Woollahra Council, to run self-defence classes and with other Jewish organisations to run specific workshops. A successful initiative was the Taskforce, particularly as members came from different parts of the community and represented natural and formal networks in communal life. In terms of reach of the project, more than 1,000 adults and young people attended 28 workshops and many more were reached through articles in the local Jewish newspaper, posters, flyers and a domestic violence information card produced as part of the project. JewishCare commissioned the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse to advise them on reviewing the project and refining strategies used by the project. A great deal of positive feedback was received from those who participated in events and suggestions for improvements were made, including provision of more information. Some people were less engaged with the issues and less convinced of the seriousness of this form of violence, which signifies the need for further intervention. Opportunities The nature of relationships, structures and methods of communication within the Jewish community presented particular opportunities to reach out to diverse sections of the community. Networks ranging from the religious observant to secular groups presented different possibilities in terms of people who could be approached. For example, the Rabbis and Rebbitzen play an important role in supporting and working with their congregations. Educating these two groups has a flow-on effect, enabling information about violence within families to be extended to those who would not usually attend these kinds of seminars. Within the Jewish community there are natural, informal leaders who play educational and support roles for people having family difficulties. Opening Closed Doors targeted these individuals and they went on to play a major role in the project by encouraging others to attend events, and providing their homes as venues. JewishCare realised the importance of including women who manage the ‘mikvahs’ (communal ritual baths), which are a key part of observant life and are an important avenue for providing information to the community. They were invited to training sessions and asked to make available the domestic violence information cards for women attending the mikvahs. The project used specialised media to educate the community about domestic and family violence, and sexual assault and where to get help; e.g. synagogue newsletters and other publications aimed at particular groups, such as observant women. Challenges Some of the challenges posed by working with the Jewish community are common to all CALD communities, such as dealing with small, close-knit communities, making it difficult for victims to seek help and stay in the community, feelings of shame about this issue as well as language and cultural issues specific to the individual cultures and religions. The Jewish community has strengths that can also present challenges to this type of work. Certain attitudes may prevent a woman seeking help for violence in the home, for example: newsletter 36
Page 1 and 2: Newsletter 36 Newsletter 36 inside
Page 3 and 4: CLEARINGHOUSE UPDATE New services o
Page 5 and 6: We often hear practitioners refer t
Page 7 and 8: Ageing and homelessness Over the ne
Page 9: Unique new website ‘HURT’ tells
Page 13 and 14: REVIEW Violence against Women in Me
Page 15 and 16: RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE GOOD PRACTI

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