Cultural Mediation: Breaking down cultural barriers for migrants

Capacity-building training is on offer to Irish lawyers who deal with migrant and ethnic minority clients. The collaborative Protect III project, between the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Ireland and the Department of Justice, aims to assist vulnerable migrants and ethnic minorities, in particular victims and survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking. IOM Ireland offers free cultural competency training to individuals and organisations working as frontline service providers who wish to further their expertise. This is not the same as interpreting services but is focussed on cultural matters.

The IOM Ireland Protect III project aims to support and empower vulnerable migrants and ethnic minorities, in particular victims and survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking. Protect III is delivered by IOM Ireland on behalf of the Department of Justice and continues on from Protect II which commenced in 2021.

The Protect III project covers the area of community policing and reporting of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; counter-trafficking research, training and a public awareness campaign; cultural competency training and a cultural mediation service. The cultural mediation service was developed to ensure access to essential services for migrant communities and ethnic minority groups, and a team of cultural mediators across Ireland has been trained to do this.

Cultural mediation is important because it bridges the gap between services and individuals who might be vulnerable or who are facing a range of intersectional barriers in accessing those services. It is not interpretation or advocacy, instead it is using cultural competency and empathy to empower the individual with whom we are working to give them agency in interacting with services. Cultural mediation helps both sides to understand each other, leading to the best possible outcome in many situations.

A cultural mediator is not an advocate on behalf of the service user, but facilitates understanding between parties, remaining neutral and unbiased in the process. These sessions are held regularly and are open to all or can be provided privately to specific organisations or groups.

Cultural mediation training can help to break down barriers by facilitating mutual understanding and interaction between service providers and users. The project will provide background information about migrant communities and the issues they may face in trying to access and use services. Migrant communities will also be given information about Irish services and encouraged to voice their needs and concerns.

For further information, please get in touch with Tegwyn Stephenson, National Programme Officer at IOM Ireland at tstephenson@iom.int.

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