TW: Domestic violence.
When it comes to domestic and family violence (DFV) in Australia, numbers can help paint a devastating picture of how widespread the issue is. On average, one woman in Australia is killed every nine days by a current or former partner, and two in five women have experienced violence since the age of 15. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found in 2022 that 18 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse during their childhood. To put it simply, this is around 1.7 million women and 1 million men.
These statistics emphasise the urgent need to address family and domestic violence, but numbers alone won’t fix the problem. In a multicultural country like Australia, addressing DFV requires a more intersectional, culturally informed approach – something the Aunties Fund firmly advocates since its recent formation.
Launched earlier this year, the Aunties Fund is a grassroots volunteer-led movement formed by six South Asian women who share a common goal to raise funds and mobilise the community to support survivors of domestic and family violence in Sydney’s South Asian community.
As a sub-fund of the Sydney Women’s Fund (SWF), the Aunties Fund has its eyes set on raising $100,000. The money is intended to go directly to existing support services offering shelter and safety to women escaping domestic abuse, all the while providing support that is culturally informed. This means that these organisations actively consider cultural nuances that can impact victims of domestic and family violence within South Asian communities. Factors such as visa issues, language barriers, traditional family structures, financial barriers and cultural views of gendered violence aren’t always understood by mainstream anti-violence support providers. However, these issues are pivotal in understanding many South Asian DFV victims’ situations and the unique challenges they face in taking action.
“It is unbearably prevalent. We were seeing regular posts on community Facebook pages from women in our communities suffering and seeking help and support, isolated, or new to the country, or unable to navigate the system,” says Auntie Indu Balachandran in a press statement provided to Draw Your Box. “Our diaspora is the 3rd largest tax paying in the country. We can do better – it is time for us as a community to step up and step in.”
In September, the Aunties hosted their first-ever fundraising event, ‘Chai and Change’. The afternoon brought together women from the Indian Sub-Continent Crisis Support Agency, Harman Foundation, House of Sakinah, and Speak Out for a panel discussion about domestic abuse in South Asian communities. The next ‘Chai and Change’ event is taking place on Sunday, November 9 in Sydney.
“The Aunties Fund invites community members to donate $10 each and become part of this movement. It’s a movement by the community, for the community. Whether you’re donating $10 or $100, every dollar counts.” Visit the donation page here.
If you require confidential support, you can also reach out to 1800 RESPECT.
Top image source: Supplied/Aunties Fund
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