Breaking the cycle: rebuilding wellbeing for domestic violence survivors

One in four Australian women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. What’s more concerning is that some women are forced to fight this trauma without a job, without recognised qualifications, and without basic English skills.

For these survivors of domestic and family violence, the path forward presents an impossible choice: return to abuse, or face poverty and homelessness.

Arise Foundation is breaking this cycle. Founded in 2022, the not-for-profit organisation provides employment readiness programs to female survivors of domestic and family violence across Australia.

“At Arise Foundation, every job placement is a financial lifeline,” explains Fariha Chowdhury, Co-CEO and Co-founder. “Our mission is to end the cycle of abuse, the cycle of homelessness, and end intergenerational violence through financial independence.”

The economic reality of domestic violence

Violence against women costs Australia’s economy $10.4 billion every year.  

“That’s capturing one year of the cost of welfare, health system support, ongoing mental health and the legal counselling required,” says Fariha. “It’s not capturing the ongoing cost compounding over time.”

But this number doesn’t tell the whole story. It’s estimated that it takes a woman an average of seven to eight attempts to leave a violent partner. The reason? Without financial independence, women face stark choices: poverty, homelessness, or returning to the perpetrator.

The wellbeing connection

For 25 years, Australian Unity has tracked the wellbeing of Australians through the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index, conducted in partnership with Deakin University. The Index tracks how satisfied Australians are with their lives across seven areas, including their standard of living (finances).

The research has consistently shown that financial security is a critical factor affecting overall wellbeing. Recent findings reveal that Australians' satisfaction with their ability to afford the things they need was the strongest factor differentiating high and low personal wellbeing.

This link between money and wellbeing matters even more for survivors of domestic violence.

“Without financial independence, we can’t break the cycle of violence or the cycle of abuse,” Fariha says. “When you're facing poverty or homelessness, and especially when you have children with you, your choice is: I have to go back where I actually have a shelter, even though it's not secured, but I'll have a roof over my head.”

The Arise approach

Arise Foundation addresses this crisis through three core programs delivered through the Arise Academy:

• The Adult English Program helps women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds—who make up 60 percent of Arise's participants—gain proficiency and confidence in English. Essential for both employment and understanding their rights in Australia.
• The Basic Digital Literacy Program provides crucial skills in a digitised economy, teaching everything from basic computer operation to cybersecurity protection from ex-partners who may attempt digital surveillance and harassment.
• The Employment Ready Program is Arise's signature offering, teaching financial literacy and foundational job skills, and most importantly confidence building. The program helps women understand budgeting, taxation, superannuation, and investments. While building the confidence to re-enter or enter the workforce for the first time.

“Employment is the single most protective factor that a woman can have,” explains Shey Hooper, Head of Operations and Partnerships at Arise Foundation. “It provides income and effectively, it provides a lifeline. We give women the choice to move towards an independent and safe future.”

The Arise Recovery Hub works alongside these programs to provide a network of over 20 service partners offering wraparound support including mental health counselling, legal assistance, financial counselling, and childcare services. Recognising that 75 percent of the women they work with are single mothers with dependents, Arise ensures that both mothers and children receive the support needed for healing and recovery.

Most crucially, Arise provides one-on-one employment coaching for up to two years after graduation. The employment coach works individually with each woman to identify career goals, articulate strengths, navigate career gaps, and secure pathways to sustainable employment—whether through cadetships, internships, or permanent positions.

Measuring the impact

Since its inception in 2022, Arise Foundation has supported 168 women through its programs. Of the 143 women who have graduated from the employment readiness program, 60 percent are now in paid employment or pursuing further studies with guaranteed job placements upon completion. 

But the impact extends beyond individual employment statistics. “You're not just impacting one life, you're impacting various lives,” Fariha emphasises. “At Arise, on average, our women have two dependents with them. There's definitely a ripple effect here. We're stopping that whole intergenerational violence. We're giving them the ability to heal in a safe and secure environment.”

The stories emerging from Arise illustrate this profound impact. One woman who had escaped a violent relationship after 20 years, with only her passport, phone, and dog, went through Arise's programs at age 54. She started a cleaning business for immediate financial stability, then pursued counselling studies sponsored by an Arise partner. Now 57, she's thriving professionally and planning to give back by counselling other domestic violence survivors.

Another participant, a mother who had moved seven times to evade her perpetrator, finally found stability through Arise's support in securing casual employment. Within five months, her six-year-old son—who had been experiencing severe trauma responses at school—began to heal in their newly stable environment.

Australian Unity's enduring support

The Australian Unity Foundation's three-year grant to Arise Foundation represents more than financial support—it's a partnership aligned with Australian Unity's 185-year commitment to supporting Australian communities and improving wellbeing.

“The partnership with Australian Unity for Arise Foundation is a game changer,” says Shey. “It allows us to have a partner for the long term, and that's where you can drive really meaningful change in this problem that is systemic across our nation. We can focus on what we need to do—reaching the women who need our services.”

For Fariha, the support means sustainability and credibility: “Given the fact that it's such a large support over three years, it allows us to think about Arise Foundation's future in terms of our own sustainability. There's also the ripple effect from other organisations being interested in Arise because of Australian Unity's reputation.”

Moving forward

The path from domestic violence to financial independence is not linear, and recovery extends far beyond securing employment. Women leaving violent relationships continue to face ongoing trauma, legal battles over children, housing instability, and the challenge of rebuilding confidence shattered by years of abuse. 

Yet employment provides a foundation upon which healing can occur. With financial security comes the ability to afford ongoing mental health support, stable housing, legal representation, and—perhaps most importantly—the control to shape one's own narrative and future.

“What drives me are the women and their children,” reflects Fariha. “The impact we've seen in their lives when they have a goal and then achieve that goal inspires us. Seeing that hope is what keeps us going.”

Financial security is not merely about economic prosperity—it's fundamental to human dignity, mental health, and Real Wellbeing. Arise Foundation’s partnership with Australian Unity is helping ensure that survivors of domestic violence have access to a fundamental wellbeing building block, one employment placement at a time.