Abuse can happen to ALL Australians

Rotary SAFE Families has had its Guide for Prevention of Abuse in Australia translated into five languages to inform our non-English speaking communities on the prevention of family abuse.

Rotary SAFE Families has continued to work hard with its commitment to engage Rotarians and the Australian public to become responsible and informed in how to prevent family abuse.

Abuse can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere – to women, men, children and our elderly, to all Australians, including our non-English speaking communities.

Dorothy Gilmour, Chair of Rotary SAFE Families, has created a Guide to Prevention of Family Abuse in Australia. Not only is this guide freely available on the Rotary SAFE Families website (rotarysafefamilies.org.au), but is now available to all Rotary clubs and the public in five translations, building inclusivity for all Australians, including our non-English speaking population.

These translated guides can also be found on the Rotary SAFE Families website. To-date, the translations include Farsi, Swahili, Greek, Dari and Hindi, with plans for further translations in the future.

Dorothy is very grateful to the five translators, who generously volunteered their language skills and time to creating these guides at no cost to Rotary.

“I am very delighted and honoured to be a part of this project,” said Disha Mann, who translated the guide into her native Hindi.

George Dimitriadis, a schoolteacher in Greece who volunteered for the Greek translation, said he was amazed by the need for such a document.

“I thought that Greeks had made some progress but as it looks, no,” George said. “Thank you for saving all these women. Your work is remarkable!”

Oscar Chemarum, who is responsible for the Swahili translation, said he and his partner were very glad to have had the opportunity to help.

“We will do our best to translate the guide in Swahili to the best of our knowledge and ensure the message is retained. Blessings!”

Dr Noor Shah Kamawal, Acting Director General for Afghanistan National Public Health Institute and a member of the Rotary Club of Carlton, is to be thanked for his generosity in translating the guide into Dari, and Parveneh Hashemi for the Farsi translation.

Rotary SAFE Families is seeking a translator to have the guide translated into Arabic. Please contact Dorothy Gilmour via info@rotarysafefamilies.org.au if you can assist with details of a volunteer.

If you have non-English speaking communities in your district, please download the guides and have them printed simply to leave at community centres, refugee hubs or provide directly to the relevant groups. Each guide is translated from the original English guide on the Rotary SAFE Families website. “Feel free to place your Rotary club’s logo on the guide to showcase your club,” Dorothy said.