Highlights
- The program aims to prevent problems in marriages from the beginning
- Mentors offer training sessions with engaged couples
- The program is a collaboration between Victoria University and Benevolence Australia
and at have joined forces to create the Good Beginnings program designed to provide engaged Muslim couples with the keys to happy and long-lasting marriages.
Saara Sabbagh, Founder and CEO of Benevolence Australia, said the course was developed with funding from the as part of the national strategy to prevent family violence.
We get coaching in other parts of our lives such as sport so why not for marriage?
Ms Sabbagh told SBS Arabic24 that Good Beginnings had been collaboratively developed by the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre at Victoria University and Benevolence Australia as a pre-marriage counselling resource for Muslim couples.
It is a world-first primary prevention program funded by the Department of Social Services (Community-led Projects to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children - 4-DPV4EVR) to address the gendered drivers of violence against women using OurWatch’s primary prevention framework ’Change the Story’.
The program works to create opportunities for conversations with Muslim pre-marriage couples about how to build respectful relationships and strong marriages when they are at the beginning of their journeys together.
In 2020, 49,510 divorce applications were approved in Australia, up 1.9 per cent from the previous year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In Australia, a divorce is ratified and becomes final after 12 months of separation.
The Latest ABS figures also show that 60 per cent of Australians are married or partnered and men (65 per cent) are more likely than women (56 per cent) to be in a committed relationship.
Women are more likely to have never been married (29 per cent), to be divorced (8 per cent), widowed (4 per cent) or separated (3 per cent).
Good Beginnings is aimed at couples who want clarity from each other before they embark on married life together and Ms Sabbagh said Benevolence had already been inundated with interest from people wanting to complete the training.
Pre-marriage counselling had been available to Christian couples for decades and something similar was needed for engaged Muslim couples
The program had been approved by the Board of Imans and would focus on potential flashpoints in marriages including finances, extended family and living arrangements, she said.
Each couple will have access to four sessions which will explore personal or environmental differences between the couple and iron out any potential hurdles before they can develop into major problems.
The mentors include community sheikhs or Imams, doctors, therapists and social workers offering couples counselling at times and places that suit them.
Saara Sabagh from Benevolence Australia, one of the founding partners of the Good Beginnings Program Source: Ben Weinstein Photography
Ms Sabbagh said preparation for the program began three years ago.
“Mentors have undergone extensive training that will enable them to start working with any two people who are about to get married through sessions where they can explore both strengths and weaknesses,” she said.
These sessions will ensure that both parties are aware of any issues and do not get surprised after marriage.
“It’s better to smooth out any bumps as early as possible."
Benevolence Australia was established in 2008 by a group of dedicated women and is a welcoming, safe space in the Muslim community that aims to strengthen the spiritual wellbeing of individuals, couples and family units.
