Paving the way for culturally-safe family services: Spectrum & Broadmeadows Family Relationship Centre

For more than fifteen years, Mackillop’s Broadmeadows Family Relationship Centre (FRC) has supported local families going through the difficult journey of family separation. Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre (that’s us!) has been proud to play an important part of this much-needed service, when delivered to the CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) communities in our region. Since its inception, FRC and Spectrum have partnered through the provision of a Cultural Advisor, a dedicated Spectrum professional with deep cross-community connections.

Virendra Khatana is the current FRC Cultural Advisor, and recently talked us through his work in helping bring vital mediation services to the local community.

What does a normal day look like as Spectrum’s Cultural Advisor for the FRC?

Working within such a diverse community, every day is different! Some days Cultural Advisor Virendra is visiting mosques, some days churches, temples, or community centres. There’s a lot of networking, and relationship-building, to build trust and understanding of the needs and access barriers of each community.

There are pre-mediation conversations with clients, or accompanying them in mediation sessions if requested; helping them understand the processes. And then there’s working with the practitioners themselves, deepening their cultural perspectives of the clients and the communities that they work with.

Spectrum’s Cultural Advisor to the FRC, Virendra Khatana.

Mediation at the FRC is suitable for any family going through separation, and includes a free assessment session – but are there other barriers that might stop people from using this helpful service?

The first and biggest barrier for many, is knowing that these services exist, and that they are entitled to access them.

For many people, especially those from CALD communities, previous experiences may have given them a fear of ‘the system’ – that any organisation involved with separation will be biased, unhelpful, or even punish them in some way. This is one of the main myths that Virendra seeks to challenge in his interactions with diverse community organisations. It’s important, he says, that people understand that the mediation service is not a legal contest, but a process ensuring a fair, supportive and empowering experience for both parties involved – one that puts the needs of children first. In many cases, successful mediation can save the costs, stress and heartache of navigating separation through the court system.

Another common fear experienced by many CALD individuals about accessing a service like mediation, is that of not being listened to, or allowed to speak. Having a Cultural Advisor like Virendra as part of this service, is vital to helping individuals feel assured and comfortable throughout their interactions with mediators, as well as other support services that they may access in the future.

What are some of the challenges that CALD communities face, when going through separation/relationship breakdown?

All relationships between people of any background, come with challenges. However, there can be specific factors that particularly impact CALD families when going through separation. Sometimes, coming from cultures with more ‘collectivist’ systems can make separation much more complex. Instead of just two people deciding to split, two entire families are disentangling, and the roles that each person played in those families, as well as their local community during the relationship, will change. Some battle the stigma of divorce from the wider community, experiencing shame around potentially being perceived as a bad wife, husband, or parent. There can be language barriers, as well as the stress of having to quickly learn and take on a new aspect of their parenting role. Both parties may experience a lack of awareness of how Australian systems operate, and need help to learn to navigate these successfully.

In terms of the practitioners themselves, there may be cultural nuances around factors like arranged marriage, gender roles, dowries, and living arrangements. In light of that, education is a key part of the Cultural Advisor’s work, both in helping practitioners deepen their knowledge and best practice in these cultural contexts, and in helping clients to understand what they can do (or need to do) to manage their separation, share custody, and negotiate finances.

One FRC practitioner describes the Cultural Advisor’s role in this process as a ‘bridge’, helping guide the best possible decision-making for all parties – helping bring culture, religious or social customs, legal rights of all parties, and the needs of the children, together and keeping each in healthy perspective.

Reflections of the Cultural Advisor

Cultural Advisor Virendra’s professional experience has given him deep roots in the CALD community and a trauma-informed outlook; his extensive career has seen him supporting migrants, asylum seekers and refugees both in Melbourne and offshore. This broad understanding of the other factors that impact mediation clients – from health to housing – helps him identify gaps in their knowledge of other services, and motivates him to build strong relationships with different religious and community organisations, to help them better link individuals and families to important resources. As he points out, services like the FRC’s mediation program, local family violence services, and family programs offered by Spectrum, can make people’s lives safer, healthier, and happier. The challenge is helping people learn that they exist, and that they’re there to help all members of the community.

Relationship separation is never easy, but it can be made easier. A culturally-safe and child-focused approach to mediation can play a vital part in making this happen. At Spectrum, we’re proud to continue to champion community partnerships that result in inclusive and accessible services to all communities across our region.

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For more information about Spectrum’s Settlement & Family services and programs, click here.

To find out more about the Broadmeadows Family Relationship Centre’s services for your family, click here.