Preventing coercive control for migrant and refugee women

The project is being conducted by the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre with inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence. It is funded by Respect Victoria and aims to better understand coercive control for migrant and refugee women. Its findings will help to inform primary prevention and early intervention strategies.

We are currently looking for women and men who are over the age of 18, identify as a migrant or refugee, and are living in Victoria to participate in an online focus group discussion at a time that suits them. There are no specific requirements for participation, and we are not seeking to recruit women with a lived experience of family violence or coercive control for the study.

The focus groups will provide an opportunity to explore understandings of family violence, including coercive control, and what interventions might work to help to prevent and effectively respond to it.

Focus groups will take place from August to mid-September and run online over Zoom for 1 hour. All information shared will be kept confidential and participants will be offered a gift voucher to recognise their time and contributions. Focus groups will be conducted in English, however, participants can also elect to have a support person attend the focus group with them.

Anyone who wishes to participate can express their interest by filling out this Google form and selecting a date/time that suits them.

Alternatively, they can email a researcher (stef.vasil@monash.edu) with their preferred date and time – I have included a list below. We will add more dates for September soon. I will get in touch with each person who expresses interest to send them additional information about the project and answer any questions they may have.

Dates for the women’s groups:

• Monday 8th of August from 12pm – 1pm
• Monday 8th of August from 6pm – 7pm
• Tuesday 9th of August from 9am – 10am
• Thursday 11th of August from 12pm – 1pm
• Thursday 11th of August from 6pm – 7pm
• Saturday 13th of August from 3pm – 4pm
• Sunday 14th of August from 10am – 11am
• Monday 15th of August from 12pm – 1pm
• Monday 15th of August from 6pm – 7pm
• Tuesday 16th of August from 9am – 10am
• Wednesday 17th of August from 9am – 10am
• Thursday 18th of August from 12pm – 1pm
• Thursday 18th of August from 6pm – 7pm

Dates for the men’s groups:

• Thursday 11th of August from 2pm – 3pm
• Sunday 14th of August from 11am – 12pm
• Wednesday 17th of August from 11am – 12pm

Explanatory Statement

Thank you for your interest in our project. Reading this will give you more information and help you decide if you want to participate or not. Participation in this project is voluntary and you do not have to take part if you do not want to. Your decision will not affect your relationship with the researchers on the project, Monash University or inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence.

If you have a question or want more information, please contact the researchers by emailing: stef.vasil@monash.edu.

We are also running an online survey where you can share your views anonymously. If you cannot attend a focus group or prefer to complete the survey, please contact the researchers.

What does this project aim to do?

This project aims to explore understandings and experiences of different forms of family violence and abuse, including coercive control, and what strategies can help to prevent coercive control for migrant and refugee women.

Who is eligible for this project?

Women who identify as a migrant or refugee, live in Victoria and are over 18 years old.

We are not specifically seeking participants with a lived experience of family violence. Anyone who identifies as a migrant or refugee can take part.

Who is funding this project?

Respect Victoria is funding this project, however, they will not know any information about who participates. Researchers from Monash University and InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence are conducting the research for the project.

What are my rights?

If you read the Explanatory Statement and decide to participate, please contact the researchers. We will respond to any questions you have and provide information about when and how the focus groups will run. On the day of the focus group, we will ask you to give your verbal consent to participate and to audio (not video) record the discussion. You can withdraw from the project at any time before, during and up to four weeks after the focus group. Please contact the researchers if you want to withdraw. There are no consequences if you decide not to participate or withdraw.

What do I need to do?

Participation involves attending an online focus group with four other people on Zoom. Two facilitators will lead the focus group, which will run for 60 minutes. The facilitators will ask you a series of open-ended questions to prompt the discussion. These questions will focus on your understandings of family violence and coercive and controlling behaviours, and how people in the community(ies) you identify with understand and experience these behaviours. We also want to hear about the types of strategies you think might help to prevent these behaviours.

How will you ensure my privacy?

We will take all steps to ensure your confidentiality. We will delete any identifying information (for example, names) from the focus group transcripts. We will also use a pseudonym and not your real name in the final research outputs (for example, a report, journal article and conference presentation).

On the day of the focus group, we will remind participants not to share identifying information about other people and not to repeat what was said after the focus group ends. We cannot guarantee confidentiality as other people in the group might be able to identify you.

What are the benefits and risks of participating?

The information you provide will help to build on what is known about coercive control and the diverse ways migrant and refugee women experience it. Sharing your perspective and understanding will help to inform primary prevention and early intervention efforts in Victoria and nationally. While your participation will contribute to evidence about coercive control, we cannot guarantee that you will directly benefit from participating in the project. There are also risks associated with participating. You might find the topic distressing particularly if you have had a personal experience of violence or coercive control.

On the day of the focus group, the facilitators will remind you that you can stop at any time, take a break, and choose not to respond to a question. You can also leave at any time. If you are experiencing any distress, please notify one of the facilitators as soon as possible. You can do this privately using the “chat” function on Zoom. If a facilitator notices that you are experiencing distress, they will contact you privately via the “chat.” They will speak with you privately in a break out room to check in with you and ask if you want to continue or not. This discussion is private and will not be audio recorded.

You can also bring a support person with you on the day of the focus group. If this is something you are interested in, please contact the researchers.

Information about support services

If participating in a focus group causes you distress, please find a list of support services at the end of this Explanatory Statement. If you have any concerns, you can also contact the researchers.

What will happen to my information?

We will audio-record the focus group discussion and send this recording to an external transcription service. We will delete any identifying information from this transcript to ensure confidentiality.

Information you provide during the focus group will appear in research outputs, for example, in reports, journal articles, conference presentations, online seminars, forums and meetings and in media reports. We will not include any identifying information about you in these outputs. We will change all details so there is no recorded information that could identify you.

Data storage

We will store the recordings and transcripts in password-protected electronic folders on the Monash University server. Only members of the research team will have access to this data. We will delete the data after five years.

Payment

You will receive a $40 gift voucher to recognise your time and contribution to the research. You will receive this voucher even if you decide to withdraw from the project on the day.

Results

Any research outputs will be publicly available via the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre website. You can also contact the researchers at any time to discuss the findings or to request copies of the research outputs.

Complaints
If you have any concerns or complaints about the project, you can contact the Executive Officer of the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. These details are: