Strengthening attitudes opposing domestic violence in culturally diverse communities campaign report TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1.  THE FRAMEWORK 2.  RESEARCH: GETTING TO KNOW THE COMMUNITIES 3.  COMMUNITY EVENTS: CREATING A SPACE TO TALK 4.  MEDIA CAMPAIGN: GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS 5.  UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES 6.  FUTURE CHALLENGES     In brief The campaign aimed to raise awareness and change attitudes about domestic violence and was produced in the languages of four communities: Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tongan and Vietnamese.  The campaign ran from November 1997 to March 1998. Why a multicultural campaign? The campaign came about because research shows groups from non-English speaking background (NESB): are less aware that domestic violence is the main type of violence experienced by women have little awareness that domestic violence is a crime and that they and their children are entitled to protection from violence are less likely to report violence or take out Apprehended Violence Orders. Forming strong partnerships Three organisations joined forces on the project: the South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Central Sydney Area Health Service and the University of NSW (Department of Community Medicine). The Department for Women funded the project for a year on a one-off basis. The Project Management Team was drawn from women’s health and health promotion units.   A Steering Committee was appointed to advise on and monitor the project, while four ethno-specific working parties and bilingual workers guided the media campaigns, community events and resource development. How were the communities chosen? Three large NESB communities - Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic - were asked to participate because they are the largest NESB populations in the Central Sydney and South Western Sydney regions.  The Tongan community was asked to participate because the Area Health Services wanted to work with a smaller, under-resourced Pacific Islander community and there already existed a link with the Tongan community thorough the Bilingual Community Education program. In brief A rigorous research process underpinned the success of this campaign.  The research included a pilot survey of community attitudes to domestic violence, followed by a full baseline survey of 425 people; focus groups and working party consultation to hone the appropriate messages, and finally post-campaign and campaign reach surveys. Stage one: the pilot A questionnaire was prepared, using as a starting point the two ANOP national surveys on violence against women held in 1987 and 1995.  The questionnaire was piloted by a team of trained bilingual interviewers and as a result was considerably shortened. Main trends: baseline survey In comparison with the two national surveys, respondents to the pre-survey were found to have: less understanding that DV is a crime less understanding about the different forms of DV and of the serious effects of domestic violence a belief that DV is a private matter to be dealt with by the family differing opinions between women and men of NESB - with men saying women go to the police and women saying there is a reluctance to go to the police. New arrival groups were less likely to report DV as an issue for women and less likely to know it is a crime. Stage two: baseline survey A sample of 425 people was surveyed to find out attitudes to domestic violence in four ethnic communities in Central and South West Sydney. The survey investigated Arabic, Chinese, Tongan and Vietnamese speaking people’s views on: whether people regarded domestic violence as an important issue for women whether they saw it as a crime knowledge about the forms of domestic violence, attitudes towards it and understanding of the factors which contribute to it communities’ perception of how to deal with it. (See below for main trends.) Main trends: post survey Identification of all forms of DV now matches the 1995 ANOP survey. This means the campaign achieved the same increase in awareness in the target communities in only 12 months, as the general population showed over an eight year period. Percentage of people viewing different forms of DV as very or quite serious is close to, or matches, the 1995 ANOP survey. More people recognise DV as the main type of violence experienced by women (25% increase). More people said DV is a criminal offence (20% increase). Fewer people agreed that DV is a private matter best handled by the family. From November 1997 to March 1998 (the period of the campaign) 43% of calls to the Department of Community Services DV 1800 line (from people who spoke a language other than English at home) were from members of the four target groups. Stage three:focus groups Focus groups were held for the four ethnic groups, with separate groups for men and women in each language.   Their role was to: deepen the project team’s understanding of issues raised in the baseline survey find out what messages we would like to give that would be listened to and accepted by the different communities explore what forms of media were most likely to be used identify the community attitudes and values that already exist in opposition to domestic violence, that could be strengthened and developed in a media campaign. Feedback from the focus groups included: build on the positives: strong family unit, strong community, strong country emphasise the positive family values of love and respect that stand in contra-diction to violence within the family show images of ‘happy families’ and emphasise the positive aspects of keeping peace and harmony in the home, rather than showing images of battered women highlight the importance of children, their future as productive adults and the damaging effect violence has on their formative growth raise the issue of domestic violence as a community responsibility, as a way of supporting the victim. Stage four: working party consultation Four working parties were established to support the bilingual project workers and give direction about the specific cultural forms the campaign would take within the different communities. The working parties played an integral role in publicising the campaign, involving community leaders, identifying resources needed within their communities and developing campaign messages. The working parties’ control over the campaign meant that there was a very strong sense of community ownership and a high level of involvement. Stage five: media campaign Detailed further on Stage six: post survey and campaign reach survey A post survey was done when the campaign had finished, to determine whether community attitudes had changed.  A campaign reach survey measured what people remembered from the radio, print and billboard elements of the campaign. (See below for main trends) Main trends: campaign reach survey Radio proved to be the best method to reach communities (67% to 88% remembered one main message). Even though people used the train infrequently, the cultural specificity of the billboards meant people still had good recollection of the main message (Tongan and Arabic). Difficult to choose the best newspaper to reach big, diverse communities. In brief Three of the four working parties chose to put on community events in conjunction with the media campaign. These events reinforced the message and increased awareness about domestic violence in the communities. Each event reflected the unique qualities of the ethnic groups and provided an occasion for key community leaders to publicly oppose domestic violence and promote gender equality. The events also provided a space for people to talk about domestic violence issues in their first language, among their own people.  They improved community awareness and gave the campaign additional opportunities for media coverage. The Chinese Working Party The Chinese Working Party held an Information Day for Chinese-speaking workers and invited guests.  A panel of six people gave information on domestic violence from a cultural and historical perspective through to legal aspects.  A Directory of Chinese domestic violence workers was launched on the day. The Arabic Working Party The Arabic Working Party held a Domestic Violence Awareness Day, where religious and other community leaders addressed men and women of the Arabic community.  A kit with information, referral organisations and stickers was distributed. The Tongan Working Party The Tongan Working Party held a Song Festival which featured 16 original songs dedicated to peace and harmony within the home The Vietnamese Working Party The Vietnamese Working Party chose to concentrate on making resources to encourage change in community attitudes, including TV and radio advertisements, a pamphlet and a fridge magnet. Things we learned... Meeting people on their own terms Understandably, steering committee members and project co-ordinators had a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of domestic violence issues.  We learned you have to meet the community on its own terms and start from where they are in understanding. It was extremely important to meet with community leaders to ensure there was a common understanding about the main messages for the campaign.  We learned a great deal about different perceptions within communities, so that we could progress from a common understanding about the importance of speaking out against domestic violence. "The most fruitful working experience" – employment of bilingual workers The project required bilingual workers with the skills to handle a sensitive issue such as domestic violence and to consult with their community and develop and implement ideas in a very short time frame.  The BCE (Bilingual Community Education) program provided a ready source of trained bilingual people who are grounded in their community, have well-developed networks and are used to working in a bureaucracy such as the Health Department. The bilingual workers took on the issue with determination and dedication.  In many ways, they became the sounding board for community attitudes in transition.  Working on such a sensitive issue meant that they had to confront their own belief systems about inter-personal relationships.  It was important to build into their work plans time for de-briefing. Tongan Song Festival Case study of a community event The Tongan community has an oral tradition, so the decision to hold a Song Festival tapped into a culturally appropriate way of promoting the message of peace and harmony in the family and opposition to domestic violence.  The Tongan campaign was called 'Auhulu · Toutapa, which describes forms of traditional work that men and women do in Tonga. 'Auhulu describes the work that men do with the banana tree, one of their main cash crops. It is their job to maintain the banana tree by getting rid of the all the dead leaves on the plant and making sure that insects do not infest the tree. In this way the tree bears a healthy crop and it makes stronger trees in the next generation. Toutapa is women's work. Two or more women sit opposite each other and stretch the fibrous matting (the tapa) which makes cloth for traditional dress, bedding and mats.  It is important that the two women work together to make the pattern straight or otherwise the tapa is considered of poor quality. These two activities suggests to the Tongan community the need for men and women to work together in a strong partnership, which has beneficial consequences for the next generation. Encouraging production of new material Tongans were encouraged to write and compose original songs to present before a panel of judges at the Song Festival.  Prize monies were offered for first, second and third winners in three categories. The application form detailed a number of ideas and messages for people to think about when writing their songs.  These included some examples of other popular songs about domestic violence and an explanation of the main types of domestic violence . A night to remember On the night of the Song Festival there were sixteen contestants across the three categories.  There were well over 500 people present, with a large contingent of children. The audience listened to songs in their language about all aspects of interpersonal relationships and watched a play about the effects of domestic violence on the children.  In his speech the President of the Tongan Association Mr 'Inoke Hu'akau said all the songs created for the night would now go into the oral history of the Tongan community. The songs were recorded live by SBS and continue to be played on community radio. The sacred songs will also add to the repertoire of hymns that are sung in Tongan churches across the State. Adding value The Tongan Song Festival is a good example of how community members can participate in defining the shape and direction of a project. The Song Festival and the presentations to churches by members of the Working Party show how a campaign message can be put to a community in a culturally appropriate way and add value to the culture rather than take something away. In brief The campaign made use of the three main forms of media - radio, print and TV.  A billboard campaign was also run at major railway stations in the area.  Radio and print media were found to have the widest impact. A first in first languages This campaign was the first in New South Wales to be conceived in the languages spoken by the target communities, rather than translated from English. One of the disadvantages with multilingual campaigns of the past was that people from non-Anglo cultures don’t relate well to an English slogan translated into their language. By working in first languages throughout the process, members of the working parties were able to find the imagery and metaphor that was most appropriate for their own culture. Radio Personalised and culturally specific radio advertisements were developed for men and women in each language. These made use of community attitudes towards domestic violence revealed in the survey and focus group discussions. Negative perceptions were taken up and refuted in scripting the radio advertisements. The radio campaign consisted of 20 spots for each script over two months. The advertisements were also run as community announcements. Print Media The ethnic press took up the story and ran with the campaign, as well as carrying paid advertisements, running feature stories about domestic violence, and reporting on community events. Bilingual workers wrote articles in their first language, based on their consultations. The advertisements were based on the images developed for the billboard campaign. The community events also attracted separate press coverage. The Chinese Independent Daily reproduced the entire Domestic Violence Workers’ Directory in a four-page supplement on domestic violence. The post survey revealed that readers remembered this. The Arabic worker recommended an advertisement be run in the Arabic press before the billboards were launched, to prepare the community for the campaign. The Tongan press ran articles on domestic violence over a six week period and coverage of the Song Festival was extensive. The campaign also paid for half page articles to be published in the Tongan newspaper on the affects of domestic violence on children and on different forms of domestic violence. Television Only the Vietnamese campaign used television, choosing the Channel 31 Vietnamese program. A 3-minute advertisement, written as a drama, was developed by the Working Party. The post survey found that Vietnamese respondents remembered the piece very well. Billboard campaign A billboard poster was created for display at four railway stations: Bankstown, Lidcombe, Strathfield and Fairfield.  The launch of the billboard campaign, by the Minister for Women, the Hon Faye LoPó, was a major public event attended by community leaders from each of the four communities.  The billboards created a visual focal point for the campaign and their success was demonstrated by the number of people who remembered them in the post survey. The billboard images and slogans were reproduced as print advertisements which were run in the ethnic press of the respective communities.  It was also reproduced as a poster and as four individual bookmarks in each language. Things we learned... Bilingual workers' involvement essential We found that it was essential to utilise the bilingual workers at every stage of the process.  When producing the radio adverts, for example, they provided invaluable assistance in ensuring the integrity of the original message was conveyed throughout the production process.  Similarly they were able to pick up design problems that an English speaking person would overlook, such as the layout of the Vietnamese slogan that was expressed as a poem but which had been changed during typesetting. In the case of the billboard, we were advised to put the Arabic panel at the end, on the right hand side, as Arabic people read right to left – obvious, but it still needed to be pointed out! Radio Scripts Ling Wong, Chinese woman "About four years ago I was attacked on the street, knocked down and my bag stolen.   All my friends and family were very sympathetic and helped me go to the police to report it.  Now I am a victim again, but this time it is my husband who is assaulting me – hitting, insulting and intimidating me.  Yet my family don't see me as a victim now.  They say if I was more patient and tried harder to please my husband he wouldn't beat me.  But I don't think I deserve this treatment – just like I didn't deserve to be attacked and robbed." "Physical assault is a crime whether it happens in the home or on the street." campaign slogan: Build family respect and harmony.  Speak out against domestic violence. Salim, Arabic man "I might have a university degree, a well paid job, the best car in the street and money in my pocket – but I don't have what I value most in life – my children and their mother.  I was a fool to think that by using force I could control those I loved.  I admit I treated her badly and hurt her deeply. I thought that the children didn't know what was happening, but of course they did.  Children can sense unhappiness in their mother." "Now when I look back on it, I realise that a home which has violence and disrespect scares away love and happiness." campaign slogan: Domestic violence causes family destruction. Nam Nguyen, Vietnamese man "It was so hard coming to a new country, with a new wife, and everything so different.  I felt like everything was out of my control.  Except in my home and family – at least there I could be boss.  But I abused my position as head of the household and treated my wife badly. My wife – she's pretty smart – she got some information about the Australian law which says what I am doing is illegal." "Jeez, I don't want to end up in the court system with the police on my back! No way! I've got my kids to think about.  I'm going to change my ways – before it's too late and I lose my family's love." campaign slogan: Love builds harmony in the family. Domestic violence destroys everything. Finding the right image Case study in cross cultural awareness The working parties and bilingual workers were crucial to the success of the billboard campaign.  They guided the project team and the media consultant through the minefield of creating images which would be appealing to the communities, give the right message and not make any cultural blunders – a process that turned out to be a lesson in cross cultural awareness for all those involved. Finding the models There was agreement that to make the audience take the message seriously, photographs of real families had to be used rather than graphics.  This presented one of the greatest difficulties in the entire campaign.  It was impossible to find a Vietnamese, Chinese or Arabic family who would model for the photographs, because of the stigma and 'bad luck' this would invite. A library photo was obtained from Vietnam, and even then there was anxiety that someone in Australia would recognise the faces.  For the Arabic image, the project worker volunteered her own family for the photograph. Finding the symbols The billboard images had to represent family strife to each culture.  It was clear from the focus groups that negative images of the effects of violence would not be appropriate or effective, so the billboard was designed with attractive images of strong families. Trouble is suggested by means of other culturally significant symbols, eg. broken glass, lopsided frame, vase knocked over. A 'tapa' (hand woven cloth) is a significant and cherished possession in Tongan families, and the idea was to show it torn.  This was not culturally acceptable, so instead, it was photographed beginning to fall from its hanging place on the wall.  A torn tapa would have caused deep distress and failed as an image. The Chinese picture was framed in a red, circular frame which brings good luck according to Feng Shui.  This image was reflected in a broken mirror, symbolising bad luck in that culture. A flower is evocative of woman in Vietnamese culture, so the image of the fallen vase of flowers was chosen as the appropriate symbol. The extended family is important in the Arabic community – the broken, lopsided frame signifies that all is not well. Surveys For the communities, the baseline and post surveys were consciousness-raising exercises in themselves. They made people focus on the issue of domestic violence and reflect, often for the first time, about their own beliefs about domestic violence. The baseline survey provided a lot of information about people’s perceptions and highlighted the particular ‘hot’ issues for each community eg. in one community gambling was a major concern and many people associated it with domestic violence. In another community it was very obvious that using the police/legal system as a response to domestic violence was not an option because of their negative experiences with the legal system. The post and reach surveys provided valuable feedback on how effective the media campaign was. Community events Although not part of the original brief, the community events became a major vehicle for reaching communities. The working parties were keen to take an active role in communicating with their communities and one way they felt they could make a direct contribution was by putting on a community event. The community events captured the spirit of the campaign and provided a forum for community members to talk about the issue of domestic violence in their first language. These events also provided an opportunity for groups who had not come together previously, or who were reluctant partners, to join together and work towards a common goal.  For example, the Tongan Song Festival drew in the churches which traditionally did not join up, and brought them together with the Kava parties (non-church-goers). Resources Likewise the original plan for the campaign did not include the production of printed materials. However, research and community consultation revealed a strong need for information about domestic violence in community languages. Developing resources in the first language ensured a resonance and familiarity that could immediately be accepted by people. This applies to written material, the billboard/poster, radio advertisements and newspaper articles. The success of the resources resulted from the communities’ role in developing them for themselves. They also provided something for participants to take home with them after the community events. The resources are an on-going outcome that extends beyond the life of the project and will be useful to other regions. Involvement of men The extent to which men became involved was innovative and very encouraging. For example at two of the community events, members of the panels were mainly men, men were the main speakers at the launch and the Tongan Song Festival had huge male choirs. The radio advertisements featured male and female stories, in an effort to reach the whole community. Men were also represented on three of the four working parties.   In bigger communities there is a lot more choice of radio programs and newspapers available in the first language. This wider choice makes it more difficult to saturate the audience with messages and it can become a ‘hit or miss’ affair whether or not you use the most effective medium. Even though we asked in the focus groups about preferred media, we found out later in the reach survey that Arabic speaking people were more likely to listen to 2ME radio than SBS and Chinese speaking people listen to the 24-hour station 2AC and SBS. Our local Arabic-speaking population appear to watch Optus TV rather than read newspapers these days. Just as the forms of media in today’s world evolve rapidly, so too do people’s preferences. There are many Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese newspapers to choose from, so it is important to be clear about where best to spend limited dollars.