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On Wednesday 25 February 2015, Uniting Through Faiths, Lentara Uniting Care and Dianella Community Health held a workshop at the Hume Global Learning Centre in Craigieburn. Speakers included Reem Hakem, Ruby Ayoubi and Monique Toohey.

This was the second event organised to address the ongoing violence Muslim women are experiencing in the streets. The purposes of the workshops were:

• to have the experiences of Muslim women brought to light;
• allow service providers to become aware of the issue;
• and devise tools and strategies so that we might come together as a community.

Over ninety people attended and participated on the day. These included service providers who are working in the community, and community members who have experienced violence first hand. The day allowed women a platform in which they could share their stories and connect with those who are working on the ground. Many of the service providers working at the community level heard these stories and have integrated this new knowledge into their action plans.

What we have heard from many women is that violent incidences tend to happen to women either when they are alone or with their children. Whether sparked by racism, xenophobia or fear of the “other”, attacks on Muslim women have increased in recent times, with the Victorian Police confirming that more incidents of racist, discriminatory and violent crimes being reported.

Anecdotes from Muslim women tell that abuse comes in the form of verbal insults, being spat at and even extending to physical violence. Although reports of violence are on the rise, the perception that many acts of violence are going unreported, fits with the information that came out of the two workshops.

The Hume workshop was well attended by members of the Victorian Police, who are working hard to integrate trust into the community, and spoke of the seriousness of these incidences, stressing that all complaints are to be taken seriously. However, many in the community would argue that they are not always taken with the seriousness they deserve.

Lydia Shelly, a Sydney based solicitor who helped setup the Islamophobia Register, suspects that many cases of violence go unreported reiterating that the majority of attacks happening to women in the presence of their children. Speaking at a forum late last year, Lydia told her audience of the mistrust between Muslim women and the police. Given this occurrence, the Islamophobia Register was set up to allow anyone to report an incidence online. Women, who have experienced violence and abuse on the streets, have told about feeling unsafe and ostracised.

We hope that these workshops can act as a consciousness raising effort and encourage women to speak out against any attacks they receive.

Uniting through Faiths is a Uniting Church program under the umbrella of the Commission for Mission. The program encourages conversations about spiritual journeys. The contention is that by having a respectful and open dialogue about our own spiritual journeys and truly listening to each other we will grow clearer about our own faith and more appreciative about the depth and sincerity of other spiritual pathway.

Report by April Robinson
Interfaith Network Developer | Uniting Through Faiths
Uniting Church Synod Victoria & Tasmania

 To listen to Reem Hakem speak to Will Mumford from SBS radio speak about her experience, click here.