Developing a Vietnamese Men's Behaviour Change Program

IntroductionRelationships Australia Victoria (RAV) has been providing relationship support services toVictorians for more than 60 years.Our centres have a range of family and relationship services for men including counselling,men’s groups, family dispute resolution, assistance on relationship and parenting mattersand education courses on relationship issues and personal growth.The Sunshine Centre runs entry level, behaviour change and ongoing ‘mentor’ groups formen who have been violent and controlling towards family members.In 2010, the Centre gained a Legal Services Board grant to establish a Men’s BehaviourChange Program for members of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne’s Northwesternregion. This group was to be facilitated by Vietnamese speaking facilitators of both gendersand to run for fifteen weeks with an initial focus on torture, trauma and cultural issues, withfurther content including themes covered in mainstream groups regarding responsibility ofthe men and safety of the women and children.The Sunshine RAV Centre managed the program in partnership with a reference groupincluding Kildonan Uniting Care, Djerriwarrh Health Services, inTouch Multicultural CentreAgainst Family Violence, (inTouch), Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association, (AVWA),TheVictorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, (VFST), No To Violence Male Family ViolencePrevention Association, (NTV).The program’s proposed outcomes were:1. decreased prevalence of violence within the families of the menparticipating in the group as evidenced by the men’s partners through women’sstories that the violence has decreased.2. increased access to support and relevant services for Vietnamesespeaking women and children who have experienced family violence and for theVietnamese men who have used the family violence.3. increased learning in relation to family violence with the targetedCulturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) community by the referencegroup, which may assist the partners in including new practices intowork that would further enhance our work with men and our work aroundthe safety of women and children.The program was accountable to a reference group comprising representatives from partnerorganisations.3