Women at Risk Visa Holder (Subclass 204) MYAN Consultation Report, in collaboration with Migration Council Australia
Young people arriving in Australia under the Women at Risk Program
We are pleased to share our latest report, "Women at Risk Visa Holders (Subclass 204) Consultation Report".
In 2020 MYAN, in collaboration with our colleagues at Migration Council Australia consulted with a number of settlement service providers on the particular experiences of women and young people arriving in Australia via the Women at Risk (WaR) program, and are pleased to share these findings with you in our Women at Risk Visa Holders (Subclass 204) Consultation Report.
WaR visa holders arriving in Australia share common pre-arrival vulnerabilities, including exposure to physical and sexual violence, and post-traumatic stress disorder, but to date no national work has been undertaken to understand the particular settlement challenges experienced by women and young people arriving on this visa.
This report provides insights into how women and young people arriving through the WaR program are faring in their settlement journey and includes examples of good practice and gaps in support. The report also provides a summary of key findings from a national sector consultation and individual interviews with service providers from across the country.
A better understanding of the settlement experiences of WaR visa holders is particularly important in light of the Australian Government’s announcement in 2019 of its intention to increase the intake of the Women at Risk cohort to 20 per cent of Australia’s total humanitarian intake. While the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted these plans, MYAN commends the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to delivering high quality settlement support for newly arrived refugees and promoting the rights and protection of refugee women and their dependants through the Women at Risk program.
