Filling the gaps: Grassroots prevention of domestic and family violence within the Korean-Australian community

Abstract

This article investigates how grassroots community groups within the Korean-Australian community are responding to domestic and family violence (DFV), particularly through informal peer-support networks. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 victim-survivors and 16 practitioners and volunteers of Korean heritage, the study explores the efforts made by community members to fill systemic service gaps and the multiple barriers they encounter—such as cultural stigma, limited resources, and institutional exclusion. The research highlights a shift away from traditional institutions like ethnic churches toward emerging peer-support networks, which provide alternative forms of culturally relevant support. These networks are seen not only as a response to barriers in formal systems but as a partial solution, creating new spaces of advocacy and support. The article calls for deeper engagement with these grassroots networks in policy and practice to improve DFV responses within Australian-Asian communities.