Research

What makes men’s behaviour change programs more accessible and responsive? Insights from migrant and refugee experiences

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

 

 

The latest research from ANROWS examines the experiences of men and families from specific migrant and refugee backgrounds engaging with men’s behaviour change programs.

Drawing on a literature review and interviews with 47 people across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, the study includes migrant and refugee men who had participated in MBCPs or similar interventions, migrant and refugee women with lived experience of DFSV, and service providers and other stakeholders.

It examines experiences of engagement in men’s behaviour change programs, perceptions of change, barriers and the implications for women’s and children’s safety.

The research shows that improving outcomes requires systems that are culturally responsive, capable of addressing co-occurring challenges such as trauma and settlement stress, and able to balance therapeutic engagement with accountability and the ongoing safety of victim-survivors.

The research also highlights significant strengths already present within migrant and refugee communities, including strong family commitments, community leadership, multicultural organisations with deep local trust, and participants’ reported motivation to build safer relationships.

While this research offers important insights, migrant and refugee communities encompass many different cultural, social, migration and settlement experiences, and the findings of one study cannot capture all of these. The research focuses on how men’s behaviour change programs can become more accessible, culturally responsive and accountable to victim-survivor safety. Violence is not specific to any one community – and efforts to build an effective service response must be inclusive of all.

 

Participation and engagement: facilitators and barriers

A significant finding from the research is that participation in men’s behaviour change programs is shaped not only by an individual’s willingness to engage, but also by whether the system has been designed to meet their needs.

Stakeholders consistently reported that migrant and refugee men participated in mainstream men’s behaviour change programs at lower rates than non-migrant men.

Lower participation rates were linked to service and systems barriers, including language accessibility, program availability and cultural responsiveness.

Barriers extended beyond language. Stakeholders described mainstream services as lacking cultural safety and responsiveness for many migrant and refugee participants. Stigma, shame, distrust of institutions, and the ongoing impacts of migration and settlement experiences could also discourage engagement.

The research also points to practical ways to strengthen engagement. Stakeholders reported that culturally adapted, in-language programs were more effective at engaging migrant and refugee men than standard approaches. Facilitators with lived migration experience were also seen to foster greater trust, understanding and sustained participation.

Engagement was strengthened when programs recognised the broader circumstances shaping participants’ lives. Stakeholders advocated for trauma-informed, one-on-one case management alongside group programs to help address co-occurring issues such as mental health, alcohol and other drug use, and settlement stressors.

These findings suggest that access to men’s behaviour change programs can be shaped not only by individual choice, but also by how services are designed. Recognising and responding to the realities of the communities they serve can help reduce barriers to participation while maintaining accountability and supporting the safety of women and children.

 

Program design, emerging outcomes and implications for women’s and children’s safety

Program outcomes for this population were similar to most evaluations of behaviour change programs. Harmful attitudes and behaviours can be challenging to shift, and the findings point to the need for sustained engagement, with accountability and women’s and children’s safety remaining central.

While participants described improvements in communication skills and emotional regulation, particularly in learning to manage anger and interact differently with their families, some participants continued to deny or minimise their use of violence, with some attributing blame to their partners.

Stakeholders reported high rates of family reconciliation following program participation. While some reconciliation can be viewed as a positive outcome, social stigma, financial dependence and community expectations may place pressure on migrant and refugee victim-survivors to return to relationships where violence has occurred, creating ongoing risks that require careful assessment and support.

These findings highlight the importance of evaluating behaviour change through an intersectional lens that recognises differences in needs, while ensuring the safety of women and children remains the central outcome against which progress is assessed.

 

Implications for policy and practice

Ultimately, the findings suggest that effective behaviour change depends not only on the design of individual programs, but on the strength of the wider system that supports them. Access, engagement, accountability and safety are interconnected, and each requires sustained attention if behaviour change is to translate into safer outcomes for women and children.

That means investing across multiple levels of the system: culturally responsive, in-language services; stronger partnerships with community-led organisations and faith-based communities; expanding one-on-one case management alongside group programs; improved support for women and children throughout and beyond men’s participation in programs; and building workforce capability through training in cultural safety and anti-racist practice.

It also highlights the importance of ongoing support beyond program completion, recognising that behaviour change and family safety often require sustained engagement rather than time-limited intervention.

Developing stronger responses also requires continued learning. The report recommends stronger evaluation of interventions, improved data collection, and further research developed in partnership with migrant and refugee communities. These approaches can help build a stronger evidence base for understanding what supports behaviour change while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of women and children remains at the centre of future policy and practice.

ANROWS will continue to work with researchers, practitioners, governments and communities to develop, synthesise and translate the evidence needed to strengthen culturally responsive approaches to behaviour change – and to support systems that continue to learn, adapt and improve over time.

 

Read the report

 

Interventions for migrant and refugee men who use domestic, family and sexual violence: Experiences and perspectives of migrant and refugee men and women, service providers and other stakeholders by Karen Block, Gemma Tarpey-Brown, Georgina Sutherland and Cathy Vaughan, published by ANROWS in 2026.

 

 

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Media contact:

Emmagness Ruzvidzo,
Media and Communications Manager, ANROWS
E: Emmagness.Ruzvidzo@anrows.org.au
M: 0468 322 800

About ANROWS

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) was established by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments under Australia’s first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (2010–2022). As an ongoing partner to the National Plan, ANROWS continues to build, strengthen and translate the evidence base that informs the current National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children (2022–2032).

With more than 150 research projects led, commissioned or contributed to, ANROWS delivers targeted evidence to inform practice, policy, and systems reform. We engage closely with victim-survivors, communities, service providers, governments and researchers to ensure our work reflects lived experience and supports collective action.

ANROWS is a not-for-profit company jointly funded by the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments. We are a registered harm prevention charity and deductible gift recipient, governed by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).