In the spirit of reconciliation, Harmony Alliance acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia for their continuing connection to land, sea, community and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
We recognise that we live and work on the land that always was and always will be Aboriginal.
As an organisation focused primarily on the rights and issues of women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, we recognise the ongoing impacts of colonisation and seek to ensure that our work is grounded in respect for the right to self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
We acknowledge that we are among the beneficiaries of settler colonial systems and structures that were built on the legacy of dispossession and institutional racism.
We are committed to actively reflecting on our place and responsibility as women from migrant and refugee backgrounds in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights and self-determination.
Harmony Alliance adopts a feminist approach in recognition of the significant impact of deeply embedded gender inequality at all levels of our society. We promote the elimination of all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence experienced by migrant and refugee women in Australia.
The efforts to promote the rights of women from migrant and refugee backgrounds must support the empowerment of all who self-identify as women, as well as non-binary and non-conforming persons who are affected by gender-based norms, discrimination and violence.
We acknowledge that women are not a homogenous group and are affected by gender inequality in a multitude of ways depending on numerous other factors, including their socio-economic status, physical appearance, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.
We uphold that gender equity cannot be achieved until the most disadvantaged of women—including Indigenous, LGBTIQA+, women with disability, and women of colour—are equally and substantively represented in all areas of life. We believe that feminism aims to achieve emancipation and equity for everyone in the society.
Harmony Alliance acknowledges that women from migrant and refugee backgrounds are impacted by multiple forms of systemic and structural disadvantage and inequality based on unique intersections of our identities and social positions.
It is not our identities that make us vulnerable but systemic exclusion and histories of oppression based on these identities that create entrenched forms of disadvantage for us. Intersectional disadvantage affects our participation in civil, economic, social, cultural, and political life, and manifests in the form of harmful societal stereotypes and racism.
In highlighting the intersectional disadvantages faced by women from migrant and refugee backgrounds and in the spirit of reconciliation, we recognise our relative position of privilege in the context of the dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well the legacy of institutional and systemic racism.
We support and encourage the embedding of the principles of intersectionality—including ongoing reflection, substantive representation, and commitment to equity—in policy and practice.
Harmony Alliance adopts a human rights-based approach to the full and effective participation of women from migrant and refugee backgrounds in Australian society. We advocate for migrant and refugee women’s rights under the following international treaties that Australia is a signatory to:
We support an intersectional approach to Australia’s anti-discrimination framework that currently comprises Racial Discrimination Act (1975), Sex Discrimination Act (1984), Disability Discrimination Act (1992), and Age Discrimination Act (2004).
Harmony Alliance adopts a self-identification approach that reflects the diversity of migrant and refugee women. We support individuals’ right to determine gender and background identities without being subject to social norms or judgements.
We acknowledge that gender and background identities are determined by personal views, experiences, ethnicity, language, religion, heritage, values, and sense of belonging.
We support an inclusive self-identification approach that empowers self-identifying women from migrant and refugee backgrounds in all their diversity and recognises the harmful effects of systemic inequalities, gender-based norms and discrimination.
We promote the recognition of gender and cultural diversity in policy processes and systems towards a more inclusive and equal Australia for all.
