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2010 - African Australians: human rights and social inclusion issues project

A compendium detailing the outcomes of the community and stakeholder consultations and interviews and public submissions

9 Justice

9.1 Overview

Engaging with the legal system emerged as one of the most significant areas of concern for African Australians in the community consultations.

While feedback in relation to the legal system was actively sought throughout all of the consultations, a number of targeted consultation sessions with individuals and organisations specifically involved or engaged in the legal system were also undertaken. These included:

Other stakeholders involved in the consultations included individuals from:

MyriaD Consultants and the community representatives on the Steering Committee also attended a one day forum in March 2009 organised by the African Think Tank Inc (ATT) entitled 'Maximizing the potential of African-Australian Youth: A Community Model to bolster health and legal support'. A focus group was conducted at the forum with a number of young people in attendance.

9.2 Do you have any comments/ observations/ stories on the experience of African Australians (including African youth) with the legal and justice systems?

(a) Community

Engaging with the legal system emerged as one of the most significant areas of concern for African Australians in the community consultations.

Through the national consultation numerous comments and observations were provided in relation to the experiences of African Australians with the legal and justice system.

Broadly, key issues related to:

There were also examples provided by community respondents of positive experiences with the legal system and police, particularly following racist attacks on the communities. These will be detailed further on in this section.

(i) Lack of awareness of the law

There was overwhelming agreement amongst most community respondents that levels of awareness amongst African Australians of the Australian legal system and its laws was extremely low. This included both civil and criminal aspects of the legal system.

Examples of situations where community members had inadvertently breached the law due to their lack of awareness or understanding of the Australian legal system were also frequently cited.

Areas of law most commonly cited included criminal law, child protection law, family law, anti discrimination law, tenancy law, domestic violence laws, and consumer law.

Lack of access to information on what constitutes an offence, coupled with limited awareness of avenues for redress, were also identified by various community respondents as sources of considerable confusion and misunderstanding. This lack of knowledge means that African Australians can quickly find themselves involved in a legal issue, leaving them feeling shocked, anxious and confused:

"Many of us did not know that you needed a license to be able to drive. How easy it is here to get into problems with the law."
(Community respondent, NT)

Participants highlighted that communities have limited access to information about anti discrimination laws and complaints mechanisms and strongly recommended that greater effort be made by anti discrimination bodies to provide culturally appropriate and translated information on these issues.

"Our young people getting into trouble with the law and then we worry about their future. They are here for a better future. We want to follow the law but the law here [is] different and so hard for us to understand. Older people need to know more too but it is the youth who really need to know so that they don't have problems with police because they don't know the system here."
(Community respondent," (Vic)

Young people in the focus groups agreed that they had very limited awareness of their rights and responsibilities and the role of courts, police and legal services.

Service providers and stakeholders reiterated the importance of building 'legal literacy' among African Australian communities. They suggested legal information should be shared with communities on an ongoing basis.

(ii) Experiences with police

Community members made repeated references to what was perceived to be mostly negative experiences of African Australians, particularly youth, with the legal and justice systems. Broadly, they related to:

Anecdotally, many of the young people reported being the deliberate target of police and security guards, and more recently transit officers.

Generally, both first generation and second generation young people regarded their experience with police and transit officers as negative.

"I don't think there is a day where I haven't been asked to move on, or police have come over to us and asked us why we are hanging around. We do go around in big groups, but that is normal for us."
(Participant, Youth Focus Group, NSW)

Community respondents raised repeated concerns in relation to the stereotyping of African Australians by police in a range of jurisdictions.

"I think the police officer on the street still thinks that all Sudanese young people are part of a gang and that that they are all into organised crime and violence. While it's not every police officer, there is still a culture that exists."
(Community leader, South Australia)

There is no doubt that the issue of confidence in the police as a mediating factor in the reporting of racist violence is important because it has the potential to offer an opportunity for intervention. Participants said programmes are needed to determine effective methods by which confidence in the police might be improved.

(iii) Racist violence towards African Australians and low levels of reporting of crime

Community respondents provided numerous examples of being subjected to assaults, including racist violence, in various states and territories across Australia.

Experiences of violence and harassment took many forms ranging from serious assaults to the more frequent incidents of racial abuse and threatening behaviour, damage to property, including damage to mosques and churches. Many referred to the stereotyping in the mainstream media and its impact as a 'trigger' to acts of discrimination and racism.

Perceptions of safety and security are a significant factor in the successful settlement and psychological wellbeing of all newly-arrived communities. Many community respondents stated feeling increasingly subjected to racist violence and most said they were not confident that this could be properly managed by law enforcement authorities.

Verbal abuse is an aspect of everyday racism for many in the consultations, but on the whole respondents did not consider it worth reporting to the police because they felt that they either cannot or will not deal with it.

NSW community respondents raised numerous concerns in relation to incidents of attacks where African Australians have been verbally abused, had eggs thrown at them and have been pelted with beer bottles from passing cars.

Some community respondents made reference to racist leaflets attacking members of the Sudanese and other African communities that had been distributed in various places in states and territories, for example, around Liverpool and Hoxton Park in NSW and in Melbourne, Victoria. This was becoming an increasing regular issue for Sudanese and other African communities to confront.

Many of the young people consulted, particularly those from Sudanese and Somali backgrounds, stated that they had been subjected to regular assaults, such as being pushed and shoved in public places, including schools, because of their appearance.

Several of the youth focus groups (more specifically in Victoria and NSW) also raised issues related to religious discrimination.

There were numerous examples given where people had been assaulted but did not report the assault to police. There were a number of reasons provided by respondents for their non-reporting, including fear of authorities, fear of being seen to be "making trouble", but the primary reason given was the lack of confidence that the matter would be properly investigated and followed up:

While there was a general reluctance to report racist incidents by many of the older community respondents participating in the consultations, younger people were more willing to speak about their experiences. Younger people also emphasised the role that they could play in successfully managing or exacerbating incidents.

(iv) Courts

Community respondents highlighted their lack of understanding of Australia's court system, and expressed concerns in relation to the impact that this lack of awareness was having amongst some community members:

"One woman from our community went to the Family Court. She thought she was going to make the court tell her husband to stop drinking. She was told to fill out some forms and to see a lawyer. She speaks some English so no interpreter was arranged for her. In the end she finally realised she was going through divorce proceedings!!"

Courts in Australia were also perceived as being intimidating and extremely formal when compared to the practice of customary law and customary practice as experienced in some countries of origin.

Feedback received from community respondents highlighted that there was an overrepresentation of young people from African backgrounds in minor public order offences such as loitering, disorderly behaviour or fare evasion.

Concerns were raised within the Victorian consultations in relation to what was seen to be tense relationship between the Somali community, particularly young people, and the police and courts.

A number of positive references, however, were made to recent initiatives that had been taken by various courts and judicial officers with the aim of improving levels of awareness amongst newly-arrived communities of the courts. These programs also aim to enhance mutual respect and trust between communities and the judiciary. One such example is the moot courts that have been organised by the Victorian Magistrates Court:

"The judge [magistrate] showed us the court room and she showed us how the court works. We all got a chance to sit in the witness box and understand more about how the court does things. This is good because I don't feel frightened of the court anymore. So many in my community are very frightened of the court."
(Community Respondent, Vic)

Other events referred to included presentations by judges and court officials to community meetings, dialogue sessions between community leaders and visits to the courts and tribunals.

Several community members and leaders also raised as a key concern from the constant negative media representation of incidents involving members of the African Australian communities:

"It doesn't matter that it was one Sudanese, or one Somali, or one Ethiopian who might have done the wrong thing and broken the law. We all end up being targeted as a problem by the media and then the Australian public as a whole."
(Participant, community focus group, Tas)

(v) Child protection

Child protection laws and what were perceived to be highly inappropriate and discriminatory interventions by child protection agencies featured in almost every community consultation meeting:

Respondents highlighted that many in the communities were often unaware of the Australian definition of the legal rights of children at 16 years and then again as young adults at 18 years.

Many community respondents suggested that child protection was not fully explained to them or how the laws work in Australia. Stakeholders also reflected the need for 'legal literacy' and more information to be provided to improve people's awareness in this area:

"In terms of child protection issues, one of the issues that we deal with is that people come in and they have no idea of the law, and the issues around child protection. When they come into the country, they immigration department funds a number of agencies, and they have these services for a number of months. They are told a bit about what life is about but certainly nothing around parenting or child protection issue"
(WA stakeholder)

(vi) Legal aid and legal services

Issues related to access to legal services, including legal aid and legal representation, were raised by a number of stakeholders in various states and territories as an issue of growing concern, particularly for those who want to bring family out to Australia.

Respondents raised a number of barriers to accessing immigration specialists, the most significant being that many in the communities cannot afford immigration lawyers or migration agents. Legal aid is not provided for these cases and the various Refugee and Immigration Legal Centres that have been set up across the country do not have sufficient funding to be able to assist families who may be in this situation.

Several African community workers and leaders also spoke of the increasing number of people from within their communities who were 'self representing' as they did not understand that they could get free legal advice, or apply for legal aid in some instances.

Some respondents commented on what they perceived to be an increased engagement with community based legal services around the development of collaborative models of legal education and legal support, including co-location of services. Co-location of services was seen to be a particularly effective way of outreaching African Australians who were not likely to be aware of the legal service, but who are engaged in activities organised through the migrant resource centre. As such, they are more likely to feel comfortable in accessing the legal service in the event of some legal issue arising:

"This has been a good way for people to know that they can get legal advice instead of just ignoring the problem. There are so many times when I know people in our community have just thrown a paper away not knowing that it was a court order."
(Community respondent, WA)

Other collaborative examples include the NSW Legal Assistance Forum (NLAF), which promotes collaboration and coordination in the development of legal services in NSW which has established a 'Working Group on Access to Justice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities'. The overall aim of the NLAF CALD Working Group is to improve legal services to culturally and linguistically diverse communities by focusing on engagement between the legal and migrant services sectors. The working group has been working with Blacktown Local Court on the feasibility of free legal information and basic legal representation service for the Sudanese community. They have also developed a Sudanese Community Legal Resource/Referral Guide.

There is also an initiative with the Victorian Bar which provides complimentary support to Spare Lawyers for Refugees. The Bar Legal Assistance Scheme provides an extensive service for the administration of legal claims through the court system in Victoria.

(vii) Access to interpreters

Issues relating to language barriers and difficulty accessing interpreters in some African languages and dialects featured in many of the community consultations:

"One of the issues is that there is a lack of adequate interpreters in some African languages such as Swahili and Kirundi. When people deal with courts it becomes a problem. Sometimes hearings have had to be adjourned to ensure that interpreters can be made available but sometimes it just isn't possible."
(Community worker, NSW)

During the consultations a small number of respondents also highlighted experiences where court hearings being held at local courts/magistrates courts had proceeded even though the interpreter had not arrived:

"I didn't understand much of what was going on. I said I was alright about the court starting because I was worried about wasting the judge's time."

A number of courts are adopting policies in relation to the use of interpreters as a way of preventing these scenarios from occurring.

(b) Stakeholders

Both 'legal' and non legal stakeholders were able to provide examples of experiences with the legal system. Overall, these did not appear to be as negative as those examples provided by community respondents. Indeed, there seemed to be a fairly even balance provided of both positive and negative experiences, particularly examples where the legal system and those working within it were actively committed to improving legal outcomes for African Australians:

Police respondents spoke of their frustration in relation to the low levels of awareness of the law amongst some African Australian communities suggesting the need for better and more coordinated information. An example was provided where police were participating in orientation programs for newly-arrived humanitarian entrants through the IHSS program.

The program operates at the Metropolitan Migrant Resource Centre and Centrecare Catholic Migrant Centre (CCMC) in Western Australia and targets new arrivals and covers a general introduction to policing in Australia and an overview of the Australian justice system. In addition, police officers are regularly invited to address new and emerging community groups on issues of concern, such as family and domestic violence, intergenerational conflict and family conflict resolution.

While the lack of availability of interpreters, particularly in the languages of the most recently arrived African Australians was undoubtedly an issue of concern, several service provider stakeholders indicated that there were still the ongoing problem of getting police and the courts to actually use interpreters.

Importantly, stakeholders still stressed that significant time and effort has been recently invested by police across a range of jurisdictions in addressing tensions between police and young African Australians.

(c) Public submissions

Over a third (36%) of the submissions raised issues relating to the legal and justice needs of African Australians.

While a few positive stories of African Australians' experiences with the legal and justice system were given in the submissions, most emphasised a lack of adequate understanding and appropriate accessing of the Australian legal and justice system by African Australians.

9.3 What concerns do African Australians have about the Australian legal and justice systems?

(a) Community

Community consultations revealed a number of concerns in relation to the legal and justice system. Broadly, these included:

Community members and leaders in other states and territories also shared examples of activities being undertaken to address the growing number of young people interfacing with the criminal justice system. While the range of activities varied, all were underpinned by the belief that communities themselves needed to be at the forefront of such initiatives:

"We are always keen to involve ourselves with the good work that police and community organisations are doing to address issues of shared concern between us, such as the tragedy that is affecting our young people who are so disconnected from us and from the community as a whole... but this should be done in close consultation with us, and not done to us. The doing to us has not worked."
(Community leader, NSW)

Conversely, concerns were also raised about young people as victims of crime, such as mobile phone theft, thefts from vehicles, and assault (often perceived to be racially motivated).

Concerns were particularly expressed by focus groups conducted with members of diverse Somali organisations who expressed a sense of increasing vulnerability in relation to racial and religious violence:

"I know that I stand out wearing the hijab and being African, and I have definitely thought about removing it ... my parents have begged me to as they are worried it makes me an easy target... but I think why should I have to do this in a country that is supposed to be free and a democracy."
(Participant, Youth focus group, Vic)

As concerned as community members were about both the possibilities of young people being victims and perpetrators of crimes, they were also equally quick to point out the remarkable achievement of so many young African Australians. Comments relating to their strength, their courage and their resilience were frequently made during community consultation sessions.

(i) Child protection

Of equal concern to communities was the issue of child protection. Community respondents report that child protection issues are creating stress and hardship for many African Australian families, particularly those who are more newly arrived:

"I am not talking about saying that we should be allowed to abuse our children. That is wrong. What I am saying is that we need to know more about what it is that I am doing, like expecting my children to take responsibility and do work around the house and look after their younger brothers and sisters. I am told here that is exploiting them. For me that is giving them responsibility and getting them to understand that they are part of a whole family and a whole community."
(Participant, Community Focus Group, WA)

Many community members expressed frustration, anger, dismay and despair at the impact that child protection interventions were having on their families and the number of out-of-home care placements involving African Australian children.

Examples of what were perceived to be inappropriate and discriminatory actions taken by child welfare and child protection agencies across various state and territory jurisdictions were consistently made at almost every community consultation.

A young woman shared the following experience which reflected many others conveyed:

"At school they asked us if we have money. We don't know about the money, but they told us that the money was ours. I know that my mother uses the money for us, and we don't know about money. Also at home we only eat in the morning and at night, and so in Australia we don't bring lunch, but then the school called my mother and told her she had to go to see the counselor because we were not given food."
(Participant, Youth Focus Group, NSW)

(b) Stakeholders

While the issues that were raised during the stakeholder consultations and interviews mirrored many of those raised in the community consultations, there were differences both in terms of how the respective groups represented the issues and the priority placed on them.

For example, stakeholders on the whole were of the opinion that young African Australians were getting caught up in the criminal justice system largely as a result of intergenerational conflict and the impact of pre arrival trauma:

"It's not surprising that young Africans would be caught up in the legal system. The young people we work with are really disaffected and disengaged both from their families and their communities. They are torn between trying to settle in a new country with different cultural norms and expectations, and also manage the cultural expectations of their families. There are very different ideas for example about independence, and this causes considerable culture clash between the young person and his or her family."
(Stakeholder, NSW)

Overall, however, key issues identified by stakeholders included:

Stakeholders spoke more frequently of the need for information and education programs aimed at building legal literacy amongst African Australians, particularly those who are newly arrived:

Several respondents across a number of different states stated that there is an urgent need for greater resourcing of parenting programs to address issues such as child protection and improve information and access particularly for African humanitarian entrants.

(c) Public submissions

The main concerns of African Australians regarding the Australian legal and justice system, as indicated by the submissions, include:

9.4 Rights, justice and the law

(a) As an African Australian, do you feel protected by the Australian legal and justice systems?
(i) Community

While responses varied from state to state, and from region to region, the majority of those who responded to this question were either 'unsure' or did not feel protected at all. Greater levels of concern and dissatisfaction were recorded in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

On the whole, Muslim women (across each of the states and territories) were even less likely to feel protected than non Muslim women, citing their visible difference, particularly in relation to the wearing of religious dress, and increasing both their vulnerability to public assaults and the likelihood of a "stereotyped view" of Muslim women.

Reasons provided by participants for their lack of confidence in the law's protection ranged from the belief that the law was for 'white people' through to deep cynicism about the law as an institution. This view was often based on pre arrival experiences.

Those who felt protected by the law were indeed able to recount experiences where either police, or other relevant authorities responded to complaints with respect and followed up appropriately.

(b) What services exist to explain to African Australians what their rights are when they are involved in the legal and justice systems?
(i) Community

Responses to this question varied depending on years of residence or settlement, with those who had been settled in Australia for longer being able to identify a number of different services, including:

A number of women in various ethno specific focus groups also identified the women's health service, including maternal and child health care centres.

For those more newly arrived, particularly those who had arrived as refugee or humanitarian entrants, levels of awareness in relation to the range of services available to assist in the provision of legal information was extremely limited with most citing the following organisations/agencies:

(ii) Stakeholders

Sources of information identified by community respondents were very much repeated by service providers and other stakeholders.

A number of stakeholders were also able to provide information in relation to their own particular services and programs, including:

The Legal Services Commission, in partnership with the Migrant Resource Centre of South Australia and the Multicultural Communities Council of SA Inc , received a grant from the Law Foundation of South Australia to assist it to administer a project to enhance access to and understanding of Australian family law for CALD Communities.

Please see: www.lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/CALDprojects.php

Justice for Refugees Program within the Victorian Department of Justice which employs community educators to develop and disseminate culturally and linguistically appropriate justice-related information in partnership with refugee communities about the legal system.

Victoria Legal Aid has a multi-lingual telephone information call centre that fields over 70,000 calls per year. It provides legal information and referral in 14 languages. Each language, has its own phone number which is promoted through local ethnic media and ethnic organisations.

Please see: www.legalaid.vic.gov.au

Fairfield City Council and ICE (Information and Cultural Exchange) are developing a DVD in Dinka, Arabic and Swahili to raise the awareness of newly-arrived communities about the Australian legal system.

Please see: www.ice.org.au/projects/fairfieldstories

Other services identified included:

Similar to the feedback received from several community respondents, a number of stakeholders also stressed the point that the mere availability of services or information sources did not guarantee effective reception of information.

(iii) Public submissions

A small number of submissions discussed the availability of some services to explain to African Australians what their rights are when they are involved in the legal and justice systems, including:

Overall, however, the submissions highlighted a lack of appropriate services available to explain the legal and justice system.

(c) Can you provide examples of any incidences where the rights of African Australians were denied in the justice and law enforcement setting?
(i) Community

Numerous examples were offered of incidents where the rights of African Australians were perceived to have been denied in the justice and law enforcement settings. Examples related to the following themes:

(ii) Stakeholders

Most stakeholders consulted highlighted that much work had been done in addressing perceived disadvantage within the legal system, including the implementation of various programs designed to enhance access to justice for African Australians. Examples such as the Justice for Refugees Program within the Victorian Department of Justice were cited as demonstrative of improved approaches.

However, several community legal centres, and a number of youth organisations made reference to a number of incidences where the rights of African Australians were denied or breached in some way. Examples include:

(d) What factors can contribute to negative interactions between African Australians and law enforcement?
(i) Community

Community respondents identified a number of factors that contribute to negative interactions between African Australians and law enforcement, including:

Another key factor highlighted was the way in which the lack of cultural knowledge, particularly on the part of police, can act (sometimes inadvertently) to create further distance between communities and police. Community respondents strongly advocated for the need for police to understanding community dynamics and splits within communities, and not simply assume that everyone with the community is the same:

"It really bothers me that police think all Sudanese people are the same and the all speak the same language... Sudanese. Well there is no Sudanese and our ethnic and cultural differences between us are actually really big. Dinkas are different to the Nuer, who are different again to the Bari or the Chollo. A bit more of an understanding of that might mean that they don't end up aggravating something or adding to a tension that might be there."
(Participant, community focus group, Vic)

The other cultural factor highlighted related to gender issues:

"For instance, a woman may not tell a police officer who is male that she is experiencing domestic violence because it might be culturally inappropriate for her to share that kind of information with a man."
(Participant, Community Focus Group, SA)

(ii) Stakeholders

Feedback received from stakeholders in relation to the above questions reflected many of the factors identified by community respondents.

(iii) Public submissions

Critical factors contributing to negative interactions between African Australians and law enforcement, as highlighted in the submissions, include:

9.5 Access to the legal and justice systems

(a) What barriers do African Australians face in accessing the legal and justice systems?
(i) Community

Community respondents identified a number of barriers faced in trying to access the legal and justice system, including culture shock for them when they first encountered the Australian legal system:

"In the lowland [of Eritrea] there was no court or police. A committee of people decides. In the case of fighting, hitting, causing serious injury, the family contact each other and try to solve the problem… Only older men can be on the committee… The committee decides on the value of the injury. For example if a person is killed about sixty cows are sent to the victim's family. One quarter of this amount is required for injuries to the teeth and eyes. Hair and broken skin is a similar amount, one cow, butter or money. The two families talk and then apologise."

Another important barrier identified by community respondents was the possible expectation, particularly by those who are newly arrived, of alignment with the legal system in their countries of origin and that of their new host country:

"Sometimes people have these expectations of the law that you know are based on their home country ideas and on cultural values. Things like the dowry and expecting that if there is a divorce, the court will order the return of the dowry."
(Community leader, WA)

Barriers identified as being specific to women included:

(ii) Stakeholders

Stakeholder respondents highlighted similar barriers to those identified by community participants.

(iii) Public submissions

Issues relating to African Australians access to legal and justice systems were addressed by a third (33%) of the submissions. The main barriers highlighted included in the submissions were similar to those for community and stakeholders.

(b) What information about the legal and justice systems should be provided to African Australians to empower them? And when is the best time to provide such information (e.g. when a person is in the legal system, or at different time)?
(i) Community

The provision of legal information and education effectively increases people's knowledge of the law and encourages greater access to the legal system and a more just outcome. For most African Australians consulted, increasing their knowledge of the law was seen as a key priority.

When asked to identify the type of information that they would require there was almost unanimous agreement that child protection and family law, including domestic violence laws, were the most important. This differed for young people who were particularly interested in receiving information about police powers.

The key subject areas in order of frequency of citation included the following:

"We should know more about what the law says about the way that we discipline our children. We do not want to hurt our children, but we have cultural ways of guiding them in the right way... it's hard to know then which way I am allowed to do this in this country."

The need for a culturally sensitive approach to assessment and intervention was strongly emphasized by most community respondents.

Community members also wanted to know more about consumer protection laws to prevent people within their communities being exploited and subjected to various unethical consumer practices, including signing contracts without fully understanding the nature of the contract.

A number of community respondents in NSW cited the Think Smart campaign as a good practice example of an effective community education initiative. The program is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of consumer rights issues by community members from amongst CALD communities in New South Wales.

Timing

Community respondents emphasised the point that they are often inundated with vast amounts of written and verbal information relating to living in Australia and that it is extremely difficult to be able to absorb all the information in a very short space of time.

Legal information needed to be delivered over a period of time and should not just be a one-off community information session.

A number of respondents stressed the need for sessions to be flexible and be offered after hours as well. The provision of childcare would also significantly enhance the ability of women to participate.

(ii) Stakeholders

Stakeholders raised similar areas of need in relation to legal information with a particular emphasis on laws relating to family violence and child abuse, consumer protection and tenancy arrangements.

"Newly arrived communities don't really understand their rights and so they tend to get ripped off when they are signing up for something. Consumer protection information is actually really vital to these communities because they are often not in a financial situation to be buying the things that they get conned into."
(Stakeholder, NT)

In relation to how and when legal information should be provided, most stakeholders agreed that access to legal information and advice should occur at the earliest possible time.

(iii) Public submissions

Suggestions given in the submissions included:

(c) Following on from the question above - how, or through what mechanism/s, can information about the legal and justice systems be best provided to African Australians?
(i) Community

Community legal education plays a key role in enhancing the ability of newly-arrived communities to better understand the Australian legal system.

Community respondents repeatedly stated that community input into the development of legal information and education strategies should actively seek to involve the community. This would ensure greater relevance to the community:

"Communities know what the issues are and they can help make the information culturally relevant. Sometimes the words that are used in English can be translated wrong so getting communities to check it is also good to stop people getting confused."

Many of the examples provided by community respondents of effective methods by which legal information can be delivered were community developed and community driven, and often in partnership with legal and paralegal organisations.

Below are some good practice examples that were cited:

The Switchboard Project
The Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning Program (SAIL) is a volunteer, non-profit organisation that provides free English support and community services to the Sudanese refugee community in Melbourne. Blake Dawson's Melbourne switchboard team assists SAIL by providing a dedicated switchboard service which connects members of the Sudanese refugee community with SAIL.
Strengthening Youth - Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria
The aim of the project is to address the large number of African youth who are unemployed or not undertaking study and having problems integrating. The project proposes to educate and mentor at risk African youth about the community. The project will include the local police, local council and community leaders. The project will focus on encouraging, empowering and assisting African youth to further their education and personal development.
Please see: www.oromocommunity.org.au

Community respondents said that they preferred to receive information through the following modes of communication:

There was also very strong support for the idea of developing visual resources such as a video or DVD. Participants felt that innovative resources such as these would be especially beneficial to those with low literacy competence.

On site visits and court open days were identified by several stakeholders as effective ways of increasing community awareness of Australian courts and tribunals.

For example, as part of Refugee Week 2009, the Refugee Review Tribunal hosted open afternoons in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Visitors received an insight into RRT operations with mock hearings and presentations on legal and research work.

(ii) Stakeholders

Stakeholders highlighted a number of activities aimed at improving levels of awareness around the legal system. Effective programs to educate those new arrivals should be:

In terms of effectiveness, stakeholders stressed the need for more comprehensive approaches that extended beyond the mere provision of legal information:

"There is no point doing the DVD's and getting your glossies out if you don't have the capacity to follow up when people then present with the whole range of legal issues that they have. You have to be able to back it up with a community development approach and one that is about prevention."

Prevention and early intervention approaches to information and legal education were considered essential to ensuring the success of information and awareness sessions targeting newly-arrived communities.

Several stakeholders highlighted the importance of ensuring that appropriate approaches to the provision of legal information were utilised in relation to young people:

"There is an assumption that you can use the same information strategies with young people as you do with adults. We know from experience that they don't read the brochures or the pamphlets. They want interactive information. Sometimes even done through other means like sport."

Indeed several programs involving sport and the arts were identified as having considerable success in increasing young people's awareness of the law and reducing the risk of negative involvement with police and the legal system:

"Young Africans seem to love sport and music and by using what they enjoy and getting them involved in a more structured way, we can get them to understand things like rules and the law. This is about prevention by using the range of protective factors."

There were many examples provided of programs and projects primarily aimed at improving levels of awareness of the law and the legal system amongst African Australians, particularly those who are newly arrived:

"Consumer Affairs Victoria educates newly-arrived migrants about their rights and responsibilities as Victorian consumers. I think their presentations really have helped to protect them from unscrupulous traders and have managed to reduce exploitation by traders which unfortunately we see all too often these days." (Stakeholder, Vic)

Examples cited include:

Renting, Shopping, Money: a teaching resource on consumer issues for migrants - an initiative of the NSW Government's Think Smart program - the NSW Office of Fair Trading developed the resource with the ACL Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Consortium.

Please see: www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/About_us/Publications/RSM_Cover_and_introduction.pdf

Multilingual Tenancy Kit - the NSW Office of Fair Trading produced this kit in partnership with Auburn Diversity Services.

Essendon Community Legal Centre - informs newly-arrived migrants and refugees and disadvantaged households about driving laws and helps them obtain their L-plates and P-plates through a driving education program.

Please see: www.communitylaw.org.au/clc_essendon

The ANU Migrant and Refugee Support Project is part of the Student Social Justice Initiative in the Law Reform and Social Justice Program at the ANU College of Law. The MARS Project gives law students an opportunity to work with newly-arrived migrants and refugees who need support and guidance in dealing with daily legal and administrative requirements, such as form-filling, letter-writing, registration and licensing, and access to information.

Please see: http://law.anu.edu.au/lrsj/mars.asp

African Sessional Workers Pilot Project - NSW DoCS and Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre - Local African community members in Sydney's west have been recruited and trained by the MRC to work with DoCS caseworkers and help DoCS work better with African families and communities. There is a pool of sessional workers representing five communities and covering fourteen languages, who casework staff can engage for support when they are working with families from African communities.

The NT Legal Aid Commission (NTLAC) provides legal advice on family law, criminal law, immigration, civil law, domestic violence and child protection. NTLAC has established an outreach service at the offices of the Multicultural Council of the Northern Territory for African Australian communities living in the northern suburbs. Recently NTLAC also launched a legal resource kit for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in the Northern Territory.

Please see: www.ntlac.nt.gov.au

Legal Education Awareness Project - The project is supported by key service providers with well established links to African youth, including Lutheran Community Care, Multicultural Youth SA, African Communities Council, Blue Light (SAPOL), Adelaide Secondary School of English and the Australian Refugee Association's Youth Working Party of African Workers' Network amongst others. It provides legal education to African youth in South Australia. LEAP stemmed from a series of consultations with African communities, settlement service providers and South Australian Police which highlighted the many challenges faced by African youth.

Please see: http://www.lsc.sa.gov.au/cb_pages/LEAP.php

Family Law for African Communities - Legal Aid Queensland has trialled an education kit on family law specifically for African Australians who are newly arrived. This kit will become one of the tools in the agency's community education program in regions with large African refugee communities.

(iii) Public submissions

Public submission highlighted that when conducting community education sessions ensure that:

There is a need to:

(d) What can be done to decrease the level of non-reporting of crime by African Australians?
(i) Community

Overall, community respondents conveyed the view that many African Australians, particularly those who are newly arrived, are less likely to report crimes committed against them and identified a number of barriers which included:

Suggestions made by respondents to improve the reporting of crime included:

Most respondents emphasised that improved relations with police would greatly enhance the communities' confidence in reporting crime.

9.6 Combating family violence

(a) What are effective strategies that can be used by governments, NGOs or service providers to combat family violence issues for African Australians?
(i) Community

Community respondents suggested that government and community agencies needed to give greater consideration to the following issues to better combat family violence issues:

The majority of respondents also expressed the view that African specific organisations should play a more significant role in preventing family violence.

"ethno specific and multicultural organisations are more likely to identify family violence issues during the settlement support process than mainstream services and yet are rarely identified as key partners in the dissemination of family violence messages or campaigns."

An example was provided of a project that was undertaken by African women for African women and their families:

Liberian Women's Story Telling

The program was for Liberian women living in Victoria to meet with each other, build relationships and learn more about Australian culture. Project activities included support from mentors, workshops to build relationships and storytelling and music sharing among the women. The women's stories will be recorded and collated into a combined document for the wider community. Some participants were of the view that changes in women's roles in the early resettlement period can have a significant impact on family dynamics as refugee men come to terms with the demands on women outside of the home and women's greater social and economic power.

Importantly, the use of religious or faith leaders to promote the messages around family violence was identified as being particularly effective as religious leaders are often well recognised, respected and trusted. Furthermore, they tend to be deeply rooted in the community and so their messages are often regarded as genuine and important to consider.

All community and religious leaders who were consulted spoke of the importance of engaging leaders in disseminating information on family violence:

"The role of the religious leader in the community is most important. I often take the opportunity in prayer to talk about what the Koran says in relation to issues of family and family violence. I remind people that there are very clear messages that say this violence is wrong. People listen to this. This is why you must involve people like myself. They are more likely to come to an Imam than anybody else."
(Religious leader)

Several community leaders highlighted that when developing information about family violence, it is important to tailor the information to individual communities, rather than fall into the trap of targeting 'African communities' as "if we were all the same". Furthermore, they highlighted that the person delivering the message about family violence and family violence prevention to communities should be "well known, credible, trustworthy, and a member of the targeted group".

Additional suggestions of effective information and communication strategies included:

The collaboration between mainstream providers and ethnic community representatives was seen as essential in developing acceptable culturally appropriate and responsive programs.

(ii) Stakeholders

Stakeholders identified similar strategies in relation to combating violence with most agreeing that interagency responses were preferred.

Several respondents also suggested that there needed to be a greater focus on prevention, in particular on raising awareness of family violence and changing the social attitudes, beliefs and systems that sustain violence.

The use of bilingual/multilingual workers was repeatedly identified as a key factor in the success of various community education programs. Bilingual workers serve as important connectors between members of their community and the mainstream agency to promote key messages to groups that have traditionally lacked access to appropriate and relevant information.

The role of men in communities was also identified as an important strategy:

Men should be targeted through culturally appropriate preventative programs, including education programs on domestic violence and Australian law, during the early settlement phase.

The FECCA White Ribbon CALD Project was cited as a good practice example. Funding was provided to FECCA by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to develop resources that would assist in building capacity for new and emerging community organisations.

Please see: www.fecca.org.au/Submissions/2008/submissions_2008045.pdf

Another program referred to by stakeholders was the Family Relationship Services for Humanitarian Entrants (FRSHE) funded by FaHCSIA. These programs are designed specifically for families who have entered Australia under the Humanitarian Entry Program. Services are open to adults, young people, parents and their children. These services aim to address the needs of each family member and provide information about life in Australia, including customs, laws and the role expectations of males and females to help families to adjust to Australia's culture. The services include community development; relationship education and skills training; counselling (includes family therapy); support; and information and referral.

Please see: www.ema.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(F6A8546F15C09260ED4A166FB5832F54)~FRSP_bro5_v3.PDF/$file/FRSP_bro5_v3.PDF

The Northern Migrant Resource Centre has developed and implemented a number of culturally appropriate programs and services aiming at enhancing awareness of family violence issues within CALD communities. These include a men and family relationships program; parenting in a new culture program; and Sudanese parenting and family support program.

(iii) Public submissions

Issues relating to combating family violence amongst African Australian communities were addressed by close to a third (30%) of the submissions.

The submission suggested a number of strategies that Governments, NGOs or service providers could employ to combat family violence issues for African Australians. They include:

9.7 Cross-cultural training

(a) Do workers in the justice system and law enforcement receive adequate cross-cultural awareness training? If not, what type of cross-cultural training is required?
(i) Community

Community respondents were generally of the view that cross-cultural training was urgently required for most law enforcement agencies including the Courts.

There was a view that while there were some good examples of cultural awareness programs that were being delivered, there needed to be much more done within a range of legal settings:

Community respondents also highlighted the need to extend beyond cross cultural training to employing African Australians within the legal system.

The example of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Scholarships for tertiary students from refugee backgrounds was raised during some of the Victorian consultations. Participants learn about the justice system and visit courts where they hold discussions about the impact of crime on victims and the community. They develop basic skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, and learn to build confidence, greater levels of resilience and self-reliance, and respect for the community and the rule of law.

Another example provided was the work that the University of Western Sydney (UWS) School of Law was doing in relation to establishing a pilot court support project at Blacktown Local Court. The Community Restorative Centre (CRC) has provided training to volunteer students free of charge.

(ii) Stakeholders

Stakeholders identified a number of cultural awareness programs across different components of the legal system. Some examples cited included:

The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration held an annual conference, 'Cultures and the Law'. Representatives from emerging communities discussed cross-cultural court room experiences in the session 'Emerging Communities: Court Users' Experiences'.

A Local Courts Cultural Diversity Resource Kit was incorporated into the Client Service Skills manual provided to participants who attended the Client Service Skills Training for Local Courts' staff.

A number of sessions at various local and Magistrates Courts (Vic and NSW).

NSW Judicial Commission - The Equality before the Law Bench Book provides NSW judicial officers with statistics and information about the different values, cultures, lifestyles, socioeconomic disadvantage and/or potential barriers in relation to full and equitable participation in court proceedings for nine different groups of people.

Please see: www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/benchbks/equality

Building Cross-Cultural Competence in Victoria Police Probational Constables is a specifically tailored training program to facilitate the introduction of new members from CALD backgrounds into Victoria Police. The project is targeted towards Probational Constables - it introduces future officers to cultural differences by building their cultural competence.

There were also several programs related to working with interpreters in the courts that were also identified. For example, Dr Sandra Hale, Associate Professor at the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of Western Sydney, regularly conducts seminars for judicial officers in a range of jurisdictions on working effectively with interpreters.

(iii) Public submissions

Issues relating to cross-cultural training for workers in the legal and justice systems were addressed by close to a third (30%) of the submissions.

While a number of agencies, including Victoria Police and Dandenong Police, do provide examples of productive cross-cultural training for workers, the submissions highlighted an overall lack of adequate cross-cultural awareness training for workers in law enforcement and the justice system.

(b) How can governments, service providers and communities work to break down the fear and mistrust of authority that is felt by many African Australians?
(i) Consultations

Examples provided included:

Sudanese Leaders and the Family Court - Sudanese Community Leaders brought their culture to the Family Court in a day of lively discussion and debate. The day was facilitated by Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau and the staff of the Family Court in Dandenong.

Victoria Police 'Connecting Africans to Industry' project involved hosting 12 young African Community members for two days as they visited several Police Units to gain a better understanding of these areas. It is hoped that such initiatives will give young African Community members the incentive to join the Victoria Police. Other initiatives by Victoria Police include:

  • New and Emerging Communities Liaison Officers Program will greatly enhance police capacity to work with newest communities. The program has five positions concentrating on community development initiatives and building bridges of understanding between new and emerging community members and Police - based at Dandenong, Northcote, Keilor Downs, Moonee Ponds and a position based at the VPC specifically focussed on working on family issues across the metropolitan area.
  • Please see:www.immi.gov.au/gateways/police/officer-profiles/emerging-clo/

Attorney General's Department NSW Sudanese Community Liaison Officer

This program provides advice to the department on strategies to improve services to the Sudanese community. The position will coordinate education campaigns and advise on policy development to ensure the Department better meets the needs of the Sudanese community.

The Hobsons Bay New and Emerging Communities Youth Leadership Program

This is a partnership project between Hobsons Bay City Council, Victoria Police, Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Westgate Migrant Resource Centre and the Altona Traders Association. The focus of the program is to link newly-arrived young people to other communities, social support and emergency service providers, in order to promote their understanding of life in Australia, build trust and encourage these young people to be ambassadors within their community.

Please see:
www.immi.gov.au/gateways/police/case-studies/victoria/hobsons-bay

(ii) Public submissions

Recommendations made in the submission to improve community relations between African Australians and the wider Australian community included:

(c) Do you know of successful models of African community and law enforcement relationships?

Community participants would like to see working models for engaging African communities promoted and built upon, such as

Equatorian Community and Welfare Association

The 'Sudanese Community Model' of working with the police, which led to the development with Blacktown City Council of the Blacktown Emerging Communities Action Plan.

Please see: www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=05736ADD-E7FF-0ADF-9866-653B6E7278A5&siteName=blacktown

SA: Multicultural Youth South Australia (MYSA) and Adelaide Local Service Area - SA Police

The project aims to develop a youth specific resource which outlines pertinent issues relevant to Australian Muslims (i.e. religious considerations, how to engage effectively with young people and contact details of culturally appropriate community service organisations available to support Muslim youth) to be distributed widely with SAPOL.

Please see: www.mysa.com.au/projects.html

Queensland Police Service

The Queensland Police Service, in partnership with the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland, coordinates an annual Football Cup for young people from diverse backgrounds. This event kicked off in 2005, originally to engage Sudanese young people in sport, and has evolved to celebrate diversity within the broader community and partnerships with police. The 2007 event involved 24 teams from diverse backgrounds and was attended by 4500 people. It was also supported by a number of government and community agencies. The event received the Queensland Police Service Bronze Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented and Partnership Policing.

Please see:
www.immi.gov.au/gateways/police/case-studies/queensland/love-game

(i) Public submissions

Examples of successful relationships between African Australian communities and local law enforcement and the justice system raise in the submissions include: