Title: The Family Law and CALD Communities Project
1- The Family Law and CALD Communities Project
- Community legal education in partnership with new
and emerging migrant communities
2Project Objectives
- Primary objectives
- Within a framework which respects cultural
diversity and encourages dialogue about
difference the project develops community legal
education programs to - promote understanding of the Australian family
law system among CALD communities - promote the ability of individuals to make
informed choices - promote understanding of how to access and comply
with the Australian legal system among CALD
communities
3Project Objectives
- Secondary intended outcome
- That the information shared by CALD communities
regarding their own cultural, religious and legal
backgrounds, their perceptions of the Australian
legal system and concerns about accessing the
Australian legal system be made available to
legal practitioners, educators and policy
officers to inform their work and enhance their
capacity to work with CALD communities.
4Why a dedicated project?
- Divorce, property settlement, childrens living
arrangements, family violence, child protection
are all of community issues just as relevant to
Australian community as a whole as they are to
CALD communities. - Language barriers can be addressed through
interpreters. - Well established ETU (3.5 FTE staff) responsible
for training, publications, updating the Law
Handbook Online. - SO WHY A SPECIALIST PROJECT?
5Why a dedicated project?
- Laws of countries of origin are often vastly
different to Australias laws - Learning Australian law is but one issue that
recent migrants refugees grapple with
(settlement issues of housing, education,
employment, language, dislocation, ongoing trauma
etc.) - Ongoing networking and consultation with
communities are vital yet time intensive
6Why a dedicated project (cont)
- Laws around marriage, divorce, children,
property settlement, dowries/bride prices, family
violence, child protection are often vastly
different in other societies. Considering that
new migrants confront multiple challenges
(housing, education, language, employment,
trauma, dislocation, separation from family,
racism), understanding Australias laws is but
one of many issues facing refugees, humanitarian
entrants and other new migrants from new and
emerging communities. CLE for new migrant
communities is not about adding information about
laws into a blank space. It is generally about
untangling. New and emerging migrant community
members are often surprised that laws they lived
with/under do not only not apply in Australia,
and that Australian laws will sometimes be
completely opposite to the laws of their
countries of origin or refuge.
7Project Overview
- Stage One Pilot Program
- Project defined
- High level sponsorship (Board of Commissioners,
Director, Law Foundation) - Strategic partnership-Migrant Resource Centre
Multicultural Communities Council - Funding for 0.5 FTE Worker (Law Foundation of SA)
- Needs analysis
- Research
- Reference Group
- Community Consultation
- Education programs
- Building relationships
- Education methodology
- Content (depends on individual community)
8Reference group
- Made up of representatives from key stakeholders
Multicultural Communities Council, Migrant
Resource Centre, Multicultural Sa, Migrant
Womens Support and Accommodation Service,
Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and
Rehabilitation Service, Family Court (SA
Registry), SA Child Services (Families SA) - Reference Group supported project worker to
- identify CALD communities with greatest need for
family law information (metro based African,
Asian and Middle Eastern communities) - foster communication relationships with
priority communities - conduct consultations with priority communities
9Community consultations
- Consultations with 3 broad community groups (as
identified by Reference Group - African, Asian
and Middle Eastern communities) - Two critical outcomes
- Projects understanding of community needs
improved - Project gained trust credibility
10Community consultationslogistics
- Hosted at Migrant Resource Centre
- Community leaders and ethno-specific community
workers participated in the consultation (project
revised communication methods) - Case studies to identify attitudes knowledge
around family dynamics in Australia, marriage
traditions, childrens issues, separation,
divorce, property settlement, mediation, family
violence - Seated in groups of 4-7 to discuss case studies
one facilitator per group to clarify case
studies/ explain Australian law/ record
participants responses - NAATI accredited interpreters
11Community consultations
- Consultations held with aim of project learning
- participants traditional means of dealing with
family law situations, taking into account
cultural, religious and community issues - current understanding of Australian family law
- information needs of each community
12Key findings
- Many participants felt that
- mainstream services do not respect and are not
interested to learn cultural practices/experiences
/beliefs of new and emerging migrant communities
- mainstream services tend to group Asians,
Africans or Middle Easterners homogenously,
without thought for individual needs and
complexities within groups the participants
13Key findings
- general distrust of government structures and
fear of being judged, misunderstood and/or
further victimised (Police, lawyers, counselling
mediation services, complaints bodies) - community workers, leaders and members want to
know and trust presenters/ educators/
facilitators especially when dealing with
sensitive topics like child protection and family
violence - concern that mainstream services are keen to
consult and collect information about CALD
communities, but less enthusiastic to provide
appropriate services after a consultation
14Key findings
- mainstream services must be aware that life in
Australia is very different from life in a
refugee camp (from household appliances used
daily in Australia being new and unfamiliar, to
health/medical practices), monitor our
assumptions and prejudices - when help is needed in Australia an appointment
is necessary (often an alien concept)
15Key findings
- hunger for factual, clear and relevant
information on Australian laws, regardless of how
these laws might contradict religious or cultural
beliefs which is - delivered in participants own language (using
interpreters) - presented by people who are sensitive to and
respectful of participants culture and who have
some understanding of the life participants left
behind in their countries of origin
16Building relationships
- Building relationships
- Education methodology
- Content (depends on individual community)
17Education Program Methodology
- Workshop form
- Interactive, designed to match language skills
and educational background of group - Accredited interpreters
- Use of culturally appropriate fictional stories/
case studies to identify legal issues and
resolutions (foster privacy of group members by
avoiding individual group members experiences) - Participants generate culturally traditional
dispute resolution options and those available
through Australian legal system
18Stage Two Project Overview
- Education programs continue
- Increased staffing allows for more participatory
models of CLE - Ongoing consultation (in CLE preparation and
formal participant evaluation) - Publication of Legal Education Kit
19What does the Project look like?
- 3 person team designs and delivers customised
legal education sessions on Australian Family Law
to CALD communities in SA - 1 Legal Education Officer (1FTE)
- 2 Bi-cultural administrative officers (1FTE)
- Part of the Commissions Education Training
Unit
20Four case studies
- Enough is Enough
- Introduction to Australian Family Law - A
workshop for Shia Muslim Religious and Community
Leaders - Law for Interpreters Course
- Liberian Womens Family Violence Forum
- Introduction to Australian Family Law A
workshop for African community members in
partnership with the African Communities Council
of SA (ACCSA)
21Enough is EnoughThe Nile Family Goes to Court
- Role play staged at the new Family Law Courts
during Law Week 2006, in partnership with the
Family Law Courts Adelaide Registry staff and
African community workers and leaders .
22Enough is Enough
- Demonstrated various stages of the Family Law
System, through the experiences of a fictional
family of Liberian humanitarian entrants
marriage breakdown traditional marriage
counselling by community elders intervention by
a Liberian problem-solving committee compulsory
Family Court Mediation and Interim Hearing which
culminated in interim orders.
23Enough is Enough
- Background
- CALD Project represented on the African Families
and Communities Group and worked closely with
Family Law Courts (SA/NT Registry) staff on their
Harmony Partnerships Programme - Law Week an opportunity to engage African
communities in family law education
24Enough is Enough
- Needs analysis with African community workers and
leaders revealed - Male is traditional head of family (including
bread winner) but common in Australia for role
reversal common to take place as women often find
paid work and become the financial provider while
males may struggle to find suitable employment - Females are often overloaded with both domestic
chores on top of external work - Males often feel powerless in Australia
- African women call on services to educate their
men about law and society in Australia - Family violence of major concern to African women
- Bride price and its effect on separation,
divorce, property settlement and children - In many African cultures children over 2yo
remain with the husbands family in the case of
divorce
25Enough is Enough
- Choosing the learning method
- African culture is predominantly an oral/story
telling culture with printed material having
limited impact - Therefore theatre education useful
26Enough is Enough
- Cast of African community workers and leaders
contributed to the script which ensured that - The scenario was familiar and topical
- Appropriate language and cultural practices were
showcased (e.g. Liberian problem solving
committee) - Cast learnt about the Australian family law
system (high impact considering their high
community status) - Their communities attended the event
27Enough is Enough
- Play DVD excerpt
- Note audience participation
28Workshop with Shia Community and Religious Leaders
- Background
- Invitation from DIMA to educate Shia religious
and community leaders on Australian marriage and
divorce laws - In response to May 2006 DIMA consultation with
Shia Imams who inferred that marriages and
divorces are solemnized in South Australia by
Imams in accordance with Sharia, but without
satisfying the Marriage Act or Family Law Act
29Shia Community and Religious Leaders
- The CALD Project conducted a needs analysis with
community leaders from the two major Shia
nationality/ethnic groups in SA the Iraqi and
Hazara Afghan groups
30Shia Community and Religious Leaders
- Learning objectives devised with the community
leaders before workshop - understand how to complete a legally valid
marriage in Australia - know the options available for resolving family
relationship problems (via legal/ courts system
and other) - understand how to divorce in Australian (plus
difference between divorce property settlement) - understand the options (via legal system other)
available to settle care of children upon
separation - understand the basic principles of the FLA in
relation to children - understand that family disputes do not inevitably
have to end in court system (i.e. most families
make private agreements ) - know where to get legal advice, assistance
representation
31Shia Community and Religious Leaders
- Workshop learning method adopted, using story
telling scenarios - See Shia Workshop PowerPoint handouts from page 2.
32Law for Interpreters Course
- The Commission partnered TafeSA Interpreters
Preparatory Course to work with interpreting
students from new and emerging migrant
communities - Access to justice for new and emerging migrant
communities impossible without good quality,
reliable and accredited interpreters
33Law for Interpreters Course
- Alarming fall off rates of NE community
interpreters - poor pay for legal interpreting jobs
- NE communities interpreters often fled countries
of origin due to legal system/ government - vastly different legal systems, court procedures,
legal concepts terms (standards of proof etc.) - Infrequent work equals drop in skills and
confidence - After listening to students fears/concerns the
project placed emphasis on practical, action
based learning - Designed and facilitated moot court workshops for
the course
34Law for Interpreters Course
- Partnership between TafeSa, Commission SA
Courts Administration Authority - Simulated exercises such as the mock trials (with
magistrate generously participating) are crucial
from a training perspective and particularly
critical for prospective interpreters, many of
whom had bad experiences with the justice system
in their countries of origin. - New initiative being developed in partnership
with SA state courts to do follow up training and
development for NE community interpreters
35Liberian Womens Forumon Family Violence
- Previous workshop concept driven some
consequent confusion and concern - Practical information delivered via concrete
examples - In partnership with SAPOL
- Monthly sessions scheduled for next 3 months
36African Communities Council SA Intro to
Australian Family Law
- What not to do!
- Workshop prepared in response to ACCSA invitation
- Poor attendance by African community
- No partnership between project and attendees
- No pre-workshop consultation with attendees or
leaders - Insufficient relationship between community and
Project
37What we have learned
- What closed doors can participatory CLE open for
new and emerging migrants? - Empowering through participation and quality
informtaion removes misconceptions and thus
reduces fear, promotes a sense of welcome,
belonging, healing in Australia - Building CALD community members trust in
institutions (police, legal aid, complaints
authorities such as HEREOC) promotes a sense of
safety and thus empowers - When new and emerging migrant community members
discover that most traditional practices
co-exist with Australian law allows for full
self expression of their religious and cultural
identities very powerful part in the
resettlement for people who are often still
dealing with trauma
38What we have learned
- Credibility
- Get out of the office into the community to meet
people on their own ground. - Build trusting relationships. Foster trust
throughout the CLE process. - Ask for feedback and keep checking that what
youre delivering is what the community actually
wants and needs - One size does not fit all be mindful of
diversity of cultural practices, religious
beliefs, language barriers between and among
community groups.
39What we have learned
- Acknowledge
- Be upfront - the Australian family law system is
one of many family law systems throughout the
world and is not inherently any more sensible or
fair than any other - Speak to commitments not concerns
40What we have learned
- Participatory
- Have the CLE be community driven and
participatory - View CLE process as a loop or holographic do
not think of the final session as the outcome or
the moment of CLE - Family law is an excellent place from which to
build a bridge to the Australian legal system and
laws in general
41What we have learned
- Relevant and useful
- Many people perceive the law as boring and
irrelevant to their lives of problems. Ensure
the CLE content is practical and relevant. That
it relates directly to the community members
lives and addresses their immediate needs. Use
concrete examples. - Have participants use their own knowledge base.
- Use the language of the community (you will only
know this from strong community participation in
the CLE development).
42What we have learned
- Utilise existing structures, work in partnership
and pool resources (successful workshops other
events stem from partnership)
43Practice Example small groups
- Case Study
- You are a legal educator in a community legal
centre. You are contacted by a community worker
from a local community organisation funded to
provide settlement support to new migrants. - The community worker notices that many of his
African clients physically discipline their
children, often hitting them with sticks. The
community worker is concerned for the children
and worried about legal consequences for the
parents. - The community worker tells you about a Liberian
family whose 12 year old son is having difficulty
in school. He is receiving negative reports and
getting into fights with other children and being
disruptive. The school has told the parents and
the parents are upset. They migrated to give
their children a better life. Negative reports
from school are viewed extremely seriously. The
father attempts to remedy the situation. He
disciplines the boy physically, with a stick.
The school principal becomes aware of this
incident and tells the parents he has made a
mandated notification to Child Services. The
parents are fearful the government will take
their child away from them. - The community worker tells you that this familys
experiences and fears are not uncommon. He asks
you to provide community legal education around
child protection for his organisations African
clients. - Describe how you would develop this community
legal education. - You may wish to consider
- How would I conduct a needs analysis?
- How would I define any behaviour changes that
people want to achieve from the process? - What content should be included?
- What learning methods should I use?
- How can I make the process participatory?
44Where to from here?
- Ethnospecific educators
- Continual project evaluation
- Knowledge sharing/ Legal Education Kit
- A new project title?!
45Project Contact Details
- Kate Howard
- Legal Education Officer
- Legal Services Commission of SA
- howard.kate_at_saugov.sa.gov.au
- (08) 8463 3396
- GPO Box 1718 ADELAIDE SA 5001
- www.lsc.sa.gov.au
46Feedback Questions