Immigrant Women’s Support Service (IWSS) is Queensland’s leading specialist service supporting migrant and refugee women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. For more than 40 years, we have provided trauma informed and culturally grounded support to women, children and young people navigating violence, migration stress and systemic barriers.

Establishment

The Migrant Women’s Emergency Support Service (MWESS) began in the 1980s when workers at Windana and Chisholm Women’s Refuges identified the barriers faced by immigrant and refugee women. Funding was secured through the Department of Immigration’s Grant-in-Aid Scheme to employ a worker to:
• build links with CALD communities
• support individual women and children experiencing violence
• strengthen cultural and linguistic inclusiveness in women’s refuges

When this initial funding ended in 1986, Chisholm Women’s Shelter secured new funding under the Commonwealth-State Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) to establish MWESS as an independent service, supported by bilingual workers.. 

Community Outreach

Isolation of women from CALD speaking backgrounds was identified as a key issue. To address this, MWESS prioritised multilingual information and outreach: 

• Speaking appearances on ethnic radio channel 4EB

• Writing for ethnic community newspapers

• Distributing information through women’s groups, mosques, churches, temples, ethnic community sporting clubs, neighbourhood centres, medical centres and Asian supermarkets. 

Raising community awareness of the law and services relevant to domestic violence gradually saw an increase in demand for assistance and support from MWESS and eventually, an increase in funding enabled the service to expand and employ more staff.

Growth and Incorporation

MWESS became independently incorporated in 1993, extending support across Greater Brisbane and providing telephone support to regional Queensland. In the 1990s, the organisation adopted the name Immigrant Women’s Support Service (IWSS).

Expansion of Services

In 1995, funding was secured from Queensland Health to provide a Sexual Assault Service. IWSS expanded to offer:
• crisis and ongoing case management
• counselling and advocacy
• support for women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence.

Integrated Model of Service

A change to IWSS’ model of service delivery coincided with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the organisation. Since June 2012 IWSS has been operating under an integrated model of service – combining the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence programs to deliver an improved and more effective, holistic service to women and their children.

Ongoing Commitment

IWSS continues to learn from the women who seek support from the service. Their experiences guide our advocacy and our efforts to influence systems and policies that affect safety, rights and wellbeing. While progress has been made, barriers such as limited income, housing shortages and restricted access to safe accommodation continue to impact safety.

Acknowledgements

Lesley Hunt
Heather Nancarrow