Completed Centre Research Work
• Women at Risk
• Domestic Violence and Refugee Communities Project (From Horror to Hope)
• Hopes Fulfilled or Dreams Shattered -Conference November 2005
• Tsunami Relief Work
Women at Risk
From 2003 - 2005, CRR undertook a longitudinal action research based study to
• explore the needs of refugee women and the effectiveness of current policy to address these needs,
• identify roadblocks to efficient policy implementation and the role of ideology and discourse in the policy process.
• address the problems experienced in the effective implementation of the "Women at Risk" (WaR) resettlement program.
The WaR program aims to identify refugee women at extreme risk of violence and without family protection, and to fast-track their removal to a resettlement country. Australia is one of a number of resettlement countries that have a quota of resettlement places within its refugee program for women and children at risk.
The research was undertaken with refugee groups in Thailand, Ethiopia and Kenya. The research identified a range of intersecting risk factors, and found that refugee women frequently experienced multiple trauma which compounds their risk of further trauma. A case study (PDF) (44 Kb) illustrating this notion of compounded risk was prepared for Amnesty International.
Developments from the Women at Risk project:
The WaR research has had an important impact on the Centre's work through
• a rethinking of the ethics of refugee research and the evolution of the reciprocal research methodology.
• Provision of training to refugees becoming an integral part of the Centre's work.
• The application of findings to assist in tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka [link to Tsunami relief section below],
• The application of findings in addressing domestic violence in refugee families in Australia [link to Domestic violence section below].
• The publication of refugee women's stories as important advocacy tools by community based refugee women's organisations, in particular Shattering Silences and Systems of Impunity by the Women's League of Burma and Karen Women's Organisation.
The research also contributed to extremely significant international research and policy and practice outcomes, including
• The development of a Women at Risk Assessment and Response tool, subsequently adapted and incorporated into UNHCR's Heighted Risk Identification Tool (HRIT) which is now part of standard UNHCR field practice.
• The adoption by UNHCR's Executive Committee of a Conclusion on Refugee Women and Girls at Risk. The Conclusion is extremely significant international ‘soft law' that provides a critical framework for improved policy and practice in response to refugee women and girls at risk. The Conclusion has contributed to amendments in Australian Government policy and an increase in the numbers of women at risk accepted for resettlement in Australia, and an increase in UNHCR funding for services targeted at women.
Domestic Violence and Refugee Communities Project (From Horror to Hope)
This project aimed to begin a response to domestic violence in refugee communities. It culminated in the development and launch of a Comprehensive training kit and DVD, "From Horror to Hope". Training based on this kit is available to community organisations from staff of the Centre for Refugee Research. The kit is available through the CRR Shop.
A linked project has been the research for and compilation of a comprehensive 25 000 word report entitled "The Ultimate Betrayal:, which was written by the Centre Director, Eileen Pittaway, for the Australian Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW, financed by the Federal Office for the Status of Women. That report is available here. (PDF) (2 Mb)
Hopes Fulfilled or Dreams Shattered -Conference November 2005
An international conference taking us from resettlement to settlement, with a focus on the Women at Risk resettlement program, was held in November, at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Background Papers:
Tsunami Relief Work
In January 2005, CRR staff travelled to Sri Lanka as part of the University response to the Tsunami.
Eileen and Linda provided training and technical support to assist in the establishment of programs across the affected areas for women who lost homes and family, and who suffered from sexual abuse in the aftermath of the disaster. Selected training materials developed for the Tsunami relief effort are included in the Education and Training section of this website.
Click here for a 5 minute video presentation of the work of the Centre in Sri Lanka.
