Championing the rights of domestic violence victims, meet social worker Jatinder Kaur

Championing the rights of domestic violence victims, meet social worker Jatinder Kaur

Brisbane-based social worker and an accredited mental health counsellor, Jatinder Kaur has been championing the rights of domestic violence victims hailing from the culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD). She also assists them profoundly in healing the mental scars resulting from the trauma of being subjected to mental and emotional torture, in many cases protracted, at the hands of their partners or husbands. In 2012-13, she was appointed to the Access and Equity Inquiry which examined the Commonwealth Government program /services in meeting the needs of multicultural communities. In her recent interview with INDIA NEWS writer, Deepika Banerjee, Jatinder Kaur gives an insight into the challenges faced by domestic and family violence victims, and the kind of work she has been doing both as the Director of her consultancy firm, JK Diversity Consultants and the pioneer of the Sahara House model in Brisbane which is the first domestic violence shelter for women of Indian origin in Australia.

Q-1. You have a keen interest in working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities (CALD). What kind of work have you been doing with them?

Ans.- I am the Director of JK Diversity Consultants which I established in June 2011 and my firm specializes in working with migrant and refugee communities. My professional career spans 18 years and across various scopes of practice namely, research, child protection, family support, refugee settlement support, domestic violence counselling, policy roles and teaching social work practice. I have been involved with diverse projects focusing on CALD children involved in child protection system and social workers developing skills in culturally sensitive practice. I have developed training workshops for professionals so that they can work with diverse clients. Some of my other workshops include working with the CALD and refugee communities in the mental health setting and understanding domestic and family violence across migrant and refugee communities.

I had been working in Government organisations and NGOs but was frustrated that there was lack of cultural responsiveness to the needs of migrant/refugee communities by various professionals, so my objective was to address this gap through training and up-skilling the sector. This was the main reason behind the genesis of JK Diversity Consultants.

Q-2. As a social worker as well as a counsellor for people struggling with mental health issues and victims of domestic violence, what kind of help have you been offering to them?

Ans.- In 2017, I established the first Indian women’s domestic violence refuge ‘Women’s Sahara House’ in Brisbane with the support of the Brisbane Sikh Gurdwara. I have advocated for the needs of migrant and refugee women who become victims of family violence. I prepared submissions to the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2015, gave evidence at the Senate Inquiry into dowry abuse public hearing held in Sydney in 2018. I am currently enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Melbourne which will examine family violence within Indian migrant families in Australia and their intersections with the service system.

I am an accredited mental health social worker and work in private practice. Currently I provide mental health counselling under Medicare from two clinics and tele-health appointments. My mental health therapy services cater to adults, children, young people and senior citizens from all cultural backgrounds. Through my counselling sessions, I assist in the mental healing of people suffering from depression and mood disorders, anxiety, stress and PTSD; chronic illness and injury; alcohol and other substance abuse; refugee trauma, migration and settlement; domestic violence trauma and childhood trauma. Being fluent in both Hindi and Punjabi, I get references of Indian women who are victims of domestic violence, from their general physicians and I really feel glad that I am able to help them start treading again on the path to recovery and hope.

Q-3. What do you feel is the biggest problem that victims of domestic violence encounter in the aftermath of the atrocities to which they have been subjected?

Ans.- The biggest challenge for these women is developing the courage to report to the police about the domestic violence and dowry-related abuse of which they have been hapless victims. They fear that they will be stigmatised, ostracised and their biggest apprehension is the possibility of being deported back to India. Most of the Indian women arrive in Australia on a temporary visa and are dependent on their husbands so it becomes very difficult for them to break free and fend for themselves. Then, of course, there is the issues of language barrier, as many of them are not fluent in English. Although the Australian Government introduced the “Family Violence Provision” to ensure that they do not remain in abusive relationships, the various formal requirements of evidentiary proofs are difficult to fulfill which restricts these women from seeking employment and accessing public benefits.

Q-4. What are the biggest challenges that you face generally as a professional and as a social worker? How do you overcome them?

Ans.-That’s a big question. As my profile has increased through media coverage, there are challenges which can hinder my advocacy work like others trying to cause damage to or spread rumours about my professional character (baseless accusations) because I have been successful. Any success comes with its own challenges and struggles but I believe in facing them head on.

Jatinder Kaur (centre) with lawyers

Q-5. Could you throw some light on the kind of social work being done by the Sahara House in Brisbane which is Australia’s first domestic violence shelter for Indian-origin women? How will the recent approval of the government grant of more than $ 200,000 assist this noble initiative?

Ans.-In 2017, the Women’s Sahara House was established as a new community welfare initiative of the Brisbane Sikh Temple (Gurdwara) Inc and is managed by me, to provide social welfare and emergency crisis accommodation for any Indian women affected by domestic and family violence, homelessness or financial hardship across Australia. ‘Sahara’ is a Hindi word which means to “to give support and refuge”. On 22 October 2019, the Women’s Sahara House was granted level 1 accreditation as Residential Service by the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works. The emergency accommodation is provided to women and children of Indian heritage (Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian), who have experienced domestic violence and are on temporary visa or have limited income supports. It provides a culturally responsive and trauma informed service. Sahara House has provided emergency accommodation to 24 Indian women and 15 children over the past three years.

It has taken three years to get to this point and there have been many struggles on the way and many hours of unpaid work to set up Sahara House. We did not receive any Government funding as it was a ‘self-funded DV refuge model’. This capital investment of $ 200,000, which comes as a part of the recently announced government’s $60 million Commonwealth Government investment plan to alleviate violence against women and their children, is a significant acknowledgment of the services we provide and recognition of our work/footprint in establishing ‘culturally responsive Domestic Violence Refuge Model’. It will help us to build another threebedroom house, renovate our garage into a studio and counselling room and complete the Tiny House. Eventually we will be able to provide an additional 10 accommodation places for vulnerable women and children seeking shelter.

Q-6. Who all are the founding members and patrons of the Sahara House in Brisbane? How did you come into contact with them?

Ans.- As I mentioned earlier, I developed the ‘Sahara House Model’. I have established partnerships and networks with various bi-lingual professionals of Indian heritage to ensure that we provide culturally responsive service which include, Indian Police Liasion officers, Mr Ricky Lashand and Ms Amanjot Sharma; Emerson Migration Lawyers , Aishwarya Somal and Sarv Singh who assist with Domestic violence matters in Magistrate Court and Family law-custody; Mr Dhaval Rajendra Mandan, Aventus Migration Services who assists with migration matters; Mr Amrit Prihar (Solicitor), Caxton Street Legal Centre, who assists with legal advice/support and various student social workers who volunteer at Sahara House and complete their social work placement (500 hours).We have partnered with local Domestic Violence services and various charities to assist vulnerable women and children. We are being approached by other states who are keen to explore ‘Sahara House model’ in their cities to support the needs of vulnerable Indian women and children who are impacted by domestic violence.

Jatinder Kaur

Q-7. What is the driving force behind your passion for social work?

I am a proud Sikh woman and a social worker. I was raised by three very strong women (my maternal and paternal grandmothers and my mother). They all had become widows very young and they taught and raised me to become a very strong, resilient woman; to aspire to “do good for others” (in accordance with the Sikh principles of ‘Sarbat Da Balla’), live my life according to truth and integrity, to become educated so that I can have a better life but also help others. My mother was the main breadwinner while my father was a Sikh preacher, so I had very strong role models in my early life. I have a supportive husband and two adult sons who support and recognize the important work I do for our community. I want to promote the key message of ‘Gender Equality’ and its importance to treating women as equals within Indian society.