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Our Services & Programs

Our Services aim to combine Yolŋu and Balanda laws and processes to address domestic and family violence through early intervention, crisis support and rehabilitation and healing. It is through these services that intervention of the cycle of violence can be facilitated and supports can be put in place to protect the women and children experiencing violent situations.

Women & children

Our Services aim to combine YolÅ‹u and Balanda laws and processes to address domestic and family violence through early intervention, crisis support and rehabilitation and healing. These services can facilitate interventions to the cycle of violence, and assist in finding and maintaining support systems that  protect women and children experiencing violent situations.

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Crisis Accommodation

The crisis accommodation will have the capacity to house 16 people within 6 rooms.​

The service will provide clients with:

  • Secure accommodation if required to sleep/ rest

  • Access to a secure shared space and facilities (kitchen, lounge and TV, laundry and garden)

  • Meals and amenities

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Case Management

GWS staff and members are currently developing a unique case management framework that is grounded in Gurrutu and aligned to essential Balanda processes and best practice models of family violence support work. Once trialled and evaluated, this model will form the foundations of the service GWS offers to women, children, and families. Within this framework GWS will offer clients access to two streams of flexible support:

  • Crisis Support for women and children at immediate risk of family violence. This could involve support in getting to a safe place, safety planning, provision of food packs etc.

  • Ongoing Flexible Support as part of a case plan. The case plan will fit within our unique case management framework, combining supports from both YolÅ‹u and Balanda systems

Family & community

As a major town in East Arnhem land, Galiwin’ku has a large population of transient residents that split their time between the town and very remote outstations/homelands. As such, the reach of these programs, and Galiwin’ku Women’s Space, is extensive. We hope to also learn from and inspire fellow remote Indigenous communities that share similar experiences with family violence.

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The clients of our services are primarily women and children from Galiwin’ku. Their family members, both men and women, will be indirect recipients of the services through the outreach and case management components.

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Community Education

GWS will facilitate a range of community education sessions aimed at informing all community members about the underlying drivers of domestic and family violence to inspire community led initiatives for change. Already, members have brought activities surrounding identifying violence to the local school for senior students to learn from.
 

Community Events

Since 2017 GWS has been running annual International Women’s Day ‘Ladies Night Out’ event where all women in Galiwin’ku are invited to a fun night of dressing up, dancing, and celebrating each other and our achievements.

GWS also participates in multi-agency events such as workshops, markets, school camps, and expos to promote our work and engage with the community.

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Laundromat

A community Laundromat will be part of the new building. The service design is still in development, but the goal is to provide access to industrial washing and drying machines for the entire community to benefit from.  

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Young Women’s Camp Fire Night Program

The campfire program started as informal meetings amongst teenage girls to talk about their relationships, their worries, really anything on their mind. Two young women that worked at GWS ran the sessions, providing food and a campfire for their peers to join. As the program grew, the women working identified specific groups, such as the different women’s footy teams, to have campfire nights with. They also developed educational activities to do while having conversations about topics like consent and violence. This program will hopefully run again once we move into the new building.

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Outside of the Galiwin'ku Community

GWS engage regularly with the DFV service network in the NT and Australia through attending forums, conferences, and workshops all over the country. Our members are often invited as guest speakers which makes us very proud! This is an opportunity for our members to gain new experiences and build their confidence.

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YolÅ‹u Pride Family 

There is an extremely high rate of domestic, family and sexual violence in Galiwin’ku and surrounding homelands, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community. Sadly, incidents of violence and abuse against our LGBTQ+ clients are so prevalent that it has become an inevitable and innocuous part of everyday life.

 

There was no safe space for the Sistagirls on the Island until Galiwinku Women Space started the Sistagirls Well-being Program in 2022. We are now the Galiwin’ku Pride Family, encompassing our ever-expanding members questioning or identifying within the LGBTQ+ community across North East Arnhem Land.

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There are nine Yolŋu communities within North East Arnhem Land and five are located on Islands. Geographically the remoteness from mainland services and resources already marginalises our Yolŋu communities.

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Yolŋu Family Pride Nights

Every Tuesday night, 4pm - 7pm we have have our Yolŋu Family Pride Nights where we gather in a safe, inclusive environment. During our evenings together we share self-care tools, i.e. physical, mental and sexual health and wellbeing resources, and education.

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LGTBQ+ DV Awareness Event

Every May, GWS hosted our inaugural LGTBQ+ DV Awareness Event. Our Pride Family members invited a safe person/people to join them in sharing LGTBQ+ DV information, our Sydney world Pride Video, ngatha (food) and a special dance performance from the group. ​

 

Grassroots Goals

Our grassroots goals seek to connect and build a physical presence for our Pride Family in each of these communities lead by the six Sistagirls that attended Sydney World Pride 2023.

  • Creating an LGBTQIA+ Education Resource Centre in Galiwin’ku 

  • Build local role models that represent our voice 

  • Community-education around employment pathways for Pride Family members

  • Provide education to community and family on identity, advocacy, discrimination, safety and allyship.

  • Offer LGBTQIA+ resource development in language

  • Offer presentations of local and global awareness of issues faced by LGBTQIA+ First Nations people in North East Arnhem Land

  • Educate our community on our experiences overseas and what it means to represent remote our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pride Family on the world stage.

  • Build career pathways (study, work etc)

  • Create partnerships with national mental health providers so resources are more accessible and culturally- informed (Headspace, Beyond Blue, Lifeline, Minus 18 etc)     

  • Build cross-cultural relationships with other First Nations Pride communities locally and globally

  • Provide access to LGBTQIA+ medical and sexual health, appointments, resources and education which are currently not accessible in community.

We urgently need your help

Despite the undeniable importance of the Galiwin’ku Women’s Space, our services face a significant threat due to financial instability. Already this year, we have encountered closures and disruptions, a direct result of insufficient funds to address ongoing challenges. The continuity of our programs is at risk, jeopardising the support and safety net provided to the community.

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