Advancing Culturally Responsive Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Responses: The Adira Centre Model
Tracks
Room 4: In-Person Only
| Wednesday, November 26, 2025 |
| 9:20 AM - 9:40 AM |
Overview
Gulnara Abbasova, SSI
Details
1. Insights on how a culturally responsive and community-informed model improves access, experience and outcomes for women, children, and families impacted by DFSV.
2. Insights regarding embedding capacity building approaches into practice through collaboration.
3. Cultural responsiveness as an opportunity to address systemic challenges.
Speaker
Gulnara Abbasova
Head of DFSV Prevention and Response
SSI
Advancing Culturally Responsive Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Responses: The Adira Centre Model
Presentation Overview
The NSW Multicultural Centre for Women’s and Family Safety’s (the Adira Centre) culturally responsive model of practice adopts a holistic, trauma and community-informed approach to improving outcomes for migrant and refugee women, children, and families impacted by Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence (DFSV) across NSW.
Established as a specialist DFSV unit within Settlement Services International (SSI), the Adira Centre provides evidence-based, culturally safe, and community-informed responses to DFSV. Guided by principles of dignity, trust, inclusion and lived experience, the Centre’s model is grounded in intersectionality and cultural humility. It is built around four interconnected pillars:
• Culturally responsive case management and collaborative practice support: Adira practitioners work persistently to build trust and navigate the cultural and structural barriers to seeking safety faced by migrant and refugee victim-survivors, and provide capacity building through collaborative practice to peers in specialist DFSV and settlement services.
• Community engagement for prevention and early intervention: initiatives include community education at different stages of settlement; Supporting U, a program building capacity of multicultural social responders; a Lived Experience Advisory Group informing all aspects of design and delivery of programs.
• Sector capacity building: in addition to training and practice-based capacity building, the Adira Centre’s Safety in Settlement Community of Practice facilitates collaboration and shared learning among multicultural and settlement organisations supporting communities impacted by DFSV.
• Policy and advocacy: ongoing monitoring of Adira Centre activities and analysis of systemic implications inform policy and advocacy at the NSW and national level.
Since launching in April 2024, the Centre has supported over 250 clients with casework, delivered more than 50 community education sessions to over 1,000 participants, and trained 125 sector professionals.
The Adira model is working to uplift sector capability and improve safety access, experience and outcomes for migrant and refugee women and children experiencing or at risk of DFSV.
Established as a specialist DFSV unit within Settlement Services International (SSI), the Adira Centre provides evidence-based, culturally safe, and community-informed responses to DFSV. Guided by principles of dignity, trust, inclusion and lived experience, the Centre’s model is grounded in intersectionality and cultural humility. It is built around four interconnected pillars:
• Culturally responsive case management and collaborative practice support: Adira practitioners work persistently to build trust and navigate the cultural and structural barriers to seeking safety faced by migrant and refugee victim-survivors, and provide capacity building through collaborative practice to peers in specialist DFSV and settlement services.
• Community engagement for prevention and early intervention: initiatives include community education at different stages of settlement; Supporting U, a program building capacity of multicultural social responders; a Lived Experience Advisory Group informing all aspects of design and delivery of programs.
• Sector capacity building: in addition to training and practice-based capacity building, the Adira Centre’s Safety in Settlement Community of Practice facilitates collaboration and shared learning among multicultural and settlement organisations supporting communities impacted by DFSV.
• Policy and advocacy: ongoing monitoring of Adira Centre activities and analysis of systemic implications inform policy and advocacy at the NSW and national level.
Since launching in April 2024, the Centre has supported over 250 clients with casework, delivered more than 50 community education sessions to over 1,000 participants, and trained 125 sector professionals.
The Adira model is working to uplift sector capability and improve safety access, experience and outcomes for migrant and refugee women and children experiencing or at risk of DFSV.
Biography
Gulnara Abbasova is the Head of DFSV Prevention and Response at Settlement Services International. She brings over 20 years of experience in public policy and strategy across civil society, government and intergovernmental organisations. Gulnara previously led the national multicultural peak body, and established and led a national migrant and refugee women’s alliance. Gulnara served on the advisory groups to develop The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, and The National Principles to Address Coercive Control in Domestic and Family Violence. She is a Board Director of NAATI (the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters).
