The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) and Anglicare Victoria (AV) launched their ‘I Need to Know You’re Safe’ framework in February 2024. The framework sought to explore young multicultural people’s experiences of family violence as victim/survivors in their own right and barriers to engagement with the Victorian Family Violence sector.
The framework consisted of a desk top review of existing literature, consultations with multicultural young people, staff in multicultural youth services and staff in the family violence sector. The framework sought to centre the voices of multicultural young people and was therefore co-designed, reviewed and co-delivered by young people.
Young people co-delivered a number of PD sessions across both CMY and AV in 2023 sharing their lived experience and the project findings. Upon launch of the framework in 2024. The same group of young people then co designed and delivered capacity building sessions for the wider sector. These sought to explore and embed the findings and accompanying resources for the framework.
This work helped to bridge the gap between youth work and Family Violence service system responses to multicultural young people, through youth led intersectional practice guidance. Through hearing directly from young people and involving them in the whole process, from consult to delivery, lived experience was at the heart of framework. The project has now received further funding so as CMY can continue to build on the success of the framework and take the findings and lessons to a broader audience across the sector.
Sameera Fieldgrass
Centre for Multicultural Youth
Sameera Fieldgrass is the Practice Lead and Team Leader for Family Violence Programs at the Centre for Multicultural Youth, she leads staff across 2 multicultural AVITH programs and one Gender Equity Youth Leadership program. Sameera is a social worker by trade and has been working with young people and families across both Government and NGO sectors for over two decades. She has worked the majority of her career in London and has been privileged to live work and play in Naarm since 2012.
Chelsea King
Senior Practitioner- Sector Capability Building’ Centre for Multicultural Youth
Chelsea is the Senior Practitioner- Sector Capability Building at The Centre for Multicultural Youth. Within this role she oversees the development and delivery of capacity building activities such as training, resources, events and consultancy services designed to enhance the culturally responsive practice of those working with multicultural young people and families.
