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Multicultural Centre for Women's Health

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Collingwood, VIC
Multicultural Centre for Women's Health

Australia’s national voice for immigrant and refugee women’s wellbeing Welcome to the MCWH community. We are all in this together.

This is a dedicated space for us to promote our events, stories and projects, and those of our collaborators. Our priority is to hold this space for the voices and wellbeing of migrant and refugee women. We welcome respectful discussions and if necessary we will remove comments to protect people’s privacy, rights and dignity. We hope you enjoy, engage with, and learn from this community.

04/12/2025

Responding to disclosures of violence can be emotionally challenging. You’re not expected to fix everything — and it’s okay to get support for yourself too. Your wellbeing matters.

Watch the full guide on responding to disclosures of violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqLuPI-fOCM

In 2025, Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal are working together to support local community engagement with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. MCWH has been funded under Respect Victoria’s 16 Days of Activism grassroots initiative.

Alt text:

Video still titled “How to Respond if Someone Tells You About an Experience of Violence: Look After Yourself.” The clip includes suggestions to speak to someone you trust, call 1800 RESPECT, or use counselling.

01/12/2025

Listening and believing someone when they talk about violence is one of the most powerful things you can do. Migrant women often fear not being believed, losing their children or even their right to live in Australia. A supportive response can help them feel safe and respected.

Watch the full guide on responding to disclosures of violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqLuPI-fOCM

In 2025, Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal are working together to support local community engagement with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. MCWH has been funded under Respect Victoria’s 16 Days of Activism grassroots initiative.

Alt text:

Video still with the title “How to Respond if Someone Tells You About an Experience of Violence: Listen and Believe.” The clip features text about listening and believing people who share experiences of violence, with suggested phrases to use.

28/11/2025

Our final WRAP for 2025 turns the spotlight on preventing gender-based violence ✊💜 as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

Inside this edition:

✨ Short funding for gendered violence prevention has long consequences
How short funding cycles limit what communities can achieve.

🛠️ Advocacy to Action
Practical ways to support migrant and refugee women in your prevention work.

⏱️ 60 seconds with Dr Somaieh Ebrahimi
An RMIT academic reflects on Iranian heritage, community, and life in Melbourne.

Read the full issue here: https://mailchi.mp/mcwh/wrapedition151_november2025

We’ll be back in December with a special year-in-review edition — stay tuned! 🎉

27/11/2025

Knowing how to respond when someone shares their experience of violence can make a huge difference. Our video explains four simple steps you can take to support someone safely: listen and believe, provide choice, understand your role, and look after yourself. You don’t need to have all the answers — just a supportive first response.

Watch the full guide on responding to disclosures of violence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqLuPI-fOCM

In 2025, Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal are working together to support local community engagement with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. MCWH has been funded under Respect Victoria’s 16 Days of Activism grassroots initiative.

Alt text:

A series of slides titled “How to Respond if Someone Tells You About an Experience of Violence”. A circular badge in the top right corner reads “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence”.

Text on the post reads:
Slide one:
How to Respond if Someone Tells You About an Experience of Violence Four steps and some helpful phrases:
- Listen & Believe
- Provide choice
- Understand your role
- Look after yourself

Slide two:
Listen & Believe
The most important thing you can do is listen and believe what they tell you.
You could say... “What happened is not okay, and you deserve to be respected and safe.”

Slide three:
Provide choice
You can suggest places where they can get support or help them take the next step. You could say... “I’m not the best person to help you, but a family violence service can. Would you like me to share their details or help you contact them?”

Slide four:
Understand your role It is important to let the person decide what they want to do next. The only exceptions are:
If a child’s safety is at risk
If a person is in immediate danger
Call 000

Slide five:
Look after yourself
It’s okay to get support for yourself too as long as you don’t share private details about the person.
Talk to someone you trust
Call 1800 RESPECT
Speak to a counsellor

Slide six:
You don’t need to have all the answers, and you’re not alone.
Watch our full guide on how to respond to disclosures of violence Youtube/MCWH1978

26/11/2025

Over the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we are recognising the important role play when someone chooses to disclose violence.

Across our communities, many people working in community-facing roles - at health programs, schools, community organisations - may find that someone trusts them enough to share an experience of violence.

Knowing how to in that moment can make a real difference.

Our new video ➡️ “How to respond if someone tells you about an experience of violence”, shares four key recommendations for responding safely and with empathy.

This resource is designed for anyone who supports community members, even if you’re not a family violence specialist.

💡 We invite you to share this video with colleagues, volunteers, partner organisations or anyone in your network who works closely with communities.

Together, we can help create safer, more supportive environments for migrant and refugee women.

❗ If you or someone you know needs support, you can call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

19/11/2025

Last week we held a Connecting Communities event with Safe and Equal and it was such an inspiring day ✨.

is a program that supports prevention practitioners working with multicultural and faith-based communities through networking and capacity-building opportunities.

This time, practitioners from North and West Victoria came together to reflect on their work, share their prevention programs and explore the importance of place-based practice. We also had the chance to play La Sobremesa, a brilliant board game created by Latin Stories Australia that sparks conversations about gender equality and traditional gender roles.

If you work in prevention with multicultural or faith-based communities and would like to learn more about this program, visit www.mcwh.com.au/connecting-communities-project.

11/11/2025

The Inquiry into Women’s Pain Report 2025: Bridging the Gender Pain Gap confirms what migrant and refugee women have been telling us for years — that women’s pain is widespread and too often unheard.

It’s time for real inclusion and system change so every woman’s experience is recognised and responded to with care.

Read our full response to the report ➡️ www.mcwh.com.au/our-response-to-the-victorian-state-governments-inquiry-into-womens-pain-report-2025

08/11/2025

It was such a joy to be part of Thrive Multicultural Women's Festival! 💜🎉

As proud official partners of this event, we had the best time at Fed Square celebrating multicultural women, and the power of connection, community and culture.

Some of our highlights from the day:
✨ Bringing our health education sessions to Fed Square! We offered free sessions on , and .
✨ Hearing our Chair, Dr Nisha Khot, deliver a keynote speech on community-led action and migrant women’s health that perfectly captured the heart of MCWH’s work.
✨ Feeling inspired by the Cultural Storytelling Panel, facilitated by MCWH’s Feifei Liao, featuring powerhouse women, including Yasmin Poole, member of our Advocacy and Fundraising Committee.
✨ Sharing valuable multilingual health resources with everyone who visited our stall!
✨Partnering with an event that truly values and celebrates multicultural women’s voices.

We’re so proud to have been part of Thrive and we can’t wait to keep celebrating multicultural women together!

31/10/2025

In this month’s WRAP we look at:⁠
⁠
✊🏽 Protest, persistence, recognition and resistance⁠
Exploring how migrant and refugee communities are showing strength and solidarity in the face of injustice.⁠
⁠
➡️ Advocacy to Action⁠
Practical ways you can stand in solidarity with migrant and refugee leaders.⁠
⁠
⏱ 60 Seconds with Trini Abascal, Director of Latin Stories Australia⁠
On the power of storytelling and community.⁠
⁠
✉️ Read the full edition here: https://mailchi.mp/mcwh/wrapedition150_octobert2025
⁠
Alt text:
An image of five women and one man smiling and wearing keffiyehs while holding a large Palestinian flag at a protest in Melbourne. Image from ABC News: Natalie Whiting.
Text on the image reads: #150 THE WRAP. This month’s WRAP takes a look at protest, persistence, recognition and resistance. Our Advocacy in Action segment has a list of how you can stand in solidarity with migrant and refugee leaders, plus 60 Seconds with Trini Abascal, Director of Latin Stories Australia. Image credit: ABC News, Natalie Whiting.

24/10/2025

Join us at Thrive Festival next Saturday at Fed Square!

We’ll be running three mini health education sessions on menopause, breast screening and mental health. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about these topics in a supportive, culturally inclusive space — this is for you.

Register for your place here: https://thrivewomensfestival.com/workshops/

Thrive Festival is a celebration of multicultural women and their wellbeing, featuring performances, workshops and community connection. Come along, say hi and learn something new!

20/10/2025

Delivering a national health program is not a small task. It takes strong partnerships, ongoing capacity building, and a deep commitment to the communities we work with.

For the past four years, we’ve learned this firsthand by building a national infrastructure to deliver the Health in My Language program. Since then, we’ve employed, trained and supported more than 60 bilingual health educators across Australia, in partnership with seven organisations.

In this video, our partners share what it means to be part of this national program, supported by MCWH’s 47 years of experience delivering bilingual health education.

08/10/2025

👉 44 bilingual health educators
👉 8 states and territories represented
👉 1 unique opportunity to come together

After three years of delivering Health in My Language, our national team of bilingual health educators came together for the first time face-to-face at the “My Health, My Language” national forum in Naarm (Melbourne).
We asked them “What does it mean to meet in person with the national team today?” and here’s what they had to say...

Alt text: footage shows people meeting and socialising at an event in a one of the rooms in Melbourne Town Hall, followed by a vox pop with seven people speaking directly to the camera and sharing their thoughts.

Address

Suite 207, 134 Cambridge Street
Collingwood, VIC
3066

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61394180999

Website

http://www.mcwh.com.au/

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