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Safe Pathways: Establishing a Multicultural Community Navigator Model in Victori

Proposal Summary

Government should fund a Multicultural Community Navigator model; training trusted community members to provide culturally safe support and connect survivors of sexual violence with specialist service

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Many victim survivors from multicultural communities do not access mainstream sexual assault services because these services often feel culturally unsafe, unresponsive, or inaccessible. Survivors may instead disclose their experiences in informal, trusted spaces such as faith groups, women’s circles, or through bicultural workers. These disclosures are often the first critical step towards healing and justice, yet they remain under-recognised and unfunded. Without support, these informal pathways can’t bridge survivors into specialist services.

The Multicultural Community Navigator model directly addresses this gap by resourcing trusted community members—people survivors already turn to—to provide safe, informed, and culturally responsive support. Navigators would act as guides, walking alongside survivors as they navigate specialist services, accompanying them to appointments, and helping overcome barriers like language, stigma, and fear of authorities. Navigators would also play an important role in prevention, sharing community-led messages about safety, consent, and rights.

This approach is grounded in the lived realities of multicultural survivors. It values relational and emotional care, which is often invisible in current funding models but essential for trauma recovery. By resourcing communities themselves, we empower survivors to seek help in environments where they feel understood and respected, instead of forcing them into systems that may feel alien or unsafe.

Evidence from international models—such as Toronto’s peer-led crisis services and East Los Angeles’ Promotoras Contra La Violencia program—shows that community-led, peer-based approaches build trust, increase reporting, and improve access to justice and healing. By formally embedding Multicultural Community Navigators, the state can strengthen its response to sexual violence and ensure multicultural voices shape the system.

• Effective funding models for supporting recovery after sexual violence