Navigating faith and gender-based violence: the role of faith communities in addressing family violence in a migrant context

This article examines the role of faith communities in addressing family violence among Asian migrant communities in Victoria, Australia. Drawing on six focus group interviews with 23 faith leaders and key personnel from three Asian backgrounds, the study explores their perspectives, barriers and support needs. While faith communities recognize their unique role in supporting community members, they often prefer to refer victim-survivors to specialist services rather than address the issue within their own communities. The findings reveal shared constraints across communities, including limited engagement with mainstream services. The study emphasizes the importance of culturally and faith-sensitive collaboration, prevention and capacity building at a community level to better support victim-survivors and those who help them.