The latest research by the Office of the eSafety Commissioner looks into the experiences of women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds who are exposed to technology-facilitated abuse.  The impacts of technology-facilitated abuse on CALD women are not substantially different to the impacts experienced by non-CALD women. However, social isolation may be amplified for CALD women where fear of shaming is particularly strong. The findings conclude that women from CALD communities face multiple barriers in seeking support to deal with technology-facilitated abuse, including:

• language barriers which may contribute to CALD women not knowing what services are available to them, and create challenges for them in terms of explaining their personal experiences;

• low digital literacy, which heightens their vulnerability to technology-facilitated abuse.

To improve access to information and services for these women, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner have developed 12 translated eSafetyWomen guides for CALD communities with the highest incidence of reported family and domestic violence.

This article was first posted by the Office of the eSafety Comissioner –  Feb 2019