We are the national voice of migrant and refugee women's health in Australia
Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) is a community-based, not-for-profit organisation led by and for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds. We exist to empower migrant women living in Australia with information to support and promote their health and well-being. We advocate for health equity for all.
Find out more about the women who make up MCWH and how we work together
We think all women should have the same opportunities for health and wellbeing
We want all women and non-binary people from migrant and refugee communities to have the same opportunities to make decisions about their health and wellbeing in Australia as everybody else, regardless of their income, disability, sexuality, ethnicity, faith, visa status or postcode.
Unfortunately, at the moment they don't. Systemic discrimination and inequity create barriers to health and wellbeing.
Like all women, migrant and refugee women have the right to understand their options and make informed decisions. We provide free multilingual health information and education to migrant and refugee women across Australia.
Like all women, migrant and refugee women have the right to access services and support and be treated with respect and without discrimination. We provide training to service providers and advocate to make health systems more equitable for everyone.
Our work aims to improve migrant women's health
To improve the health of migrant and refugee women, we provide:
- multilingual health education to women across Victoria
- women's health information in over 70 languages
- cross-cultural and workplace training and consultation
- advocacy, expert advice and policy input
- research and project partnerships
- capacity building and women's leadership
Read our FY2018/19 Annual Report
Our Approach
Intersectional
An intersectional and feminist approach means seeing the many ways women's lives, health and decisions are impacted by overlapping social and institutional forces.
Women led
Since 1978, we have worked for the recognition of migrant and refugee women as leaders, experts, agents for change, decision makers and active participants in their health and well-being.
Evidence-based
Building a clearly communicated evidence-base and dispelling assumptions around migrant women's health is central to increasing all women's opportunities for better health and access to better services.
Collaborative
Together we are stronger. Building relationships with partner organisations adds value to existing work and opens more doors to health for migrant women.