WUNRN
Direct
Link for Full 39-Page 2013 Report:
http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/documents/PracticeMonograph_1.pdf
Recent research has demonstrated that refugee
women seeking help for domestic violence in countries
of resettlement, such as
experienced multiple incidents of trauma as a result
of their exposure to war, loss, displacement and
encampment (Pittaway 2004; Pittaway & Rees 2006;
Rees & Pease 2007; Zannettino 2012). Frequently
these experiences involve sexual violence and abuse
occurring over an extended period of time and in a
myriad of contexts (Heineman 2011; Leatherman 2011).
Practitioners working with refugee women aff ected by
domestic violence in countries of resettlement need
to be aware of the likelihood of such histories. More
specifi cally, they must be cognisant of how the mental
and physical eff ects of refugees’ pre-arrival experiences
can impact on their wellbeing and opportunities for
successful settlement in a new country. They must also
consider how such experiences can both contribute
to and compound current experiences of violence in
their intimate relationships (Pittaway 2004; Rees 2004;
Zannettino 2012).
Key Points
• Research and practice with refugee women
seeking assistance for settlement and other
needs demonstrates high levels of exposure to
multiple traumatic incidents.
• These incidents include many acts of sexual
violence, including rape, forced sex through
economic abuse (‘survival sex’), forced marriage
and sexual abuse of children.
• Prior experiences of sexual violence often
increase the isolation and shame felt by refugee
victims of domestic and family violence in
exclusion from their own communities.
• Service providers in the domestic violence
and sexual assault fi eld, as well as settlement
services, are not always aware of the extent of
harm and the impacts of prior experiences of
horrifi c trauma on the needs of refugee women
who present to their service.
• Increased understanding, cultural safety and
provision of a safe space to talk about trauma
are important if services are to improve their
responses.