Ritu Dhar started collecting coins after she decided she could no longer live with her abusive husband.
As a newly-arrived bride in Australia, she had no idea about life in her new country.
Ms Dhar was on a temporary visa and was struggling - she couldn’t drive, had no money, no job, and no friends. She was entirely reliant on her new husband.
But the man she married wasn’t who she thought he was. He wasn’t physically abusive, Ms Dhar says, but would use coercive control against her.
Ritu Dhar came to Australia on a temporary visa, and originally struggled in the new surroundings. Source: Supplied
Two years later, after she gave birth to her son, she knew she had to escape.
“I was fearful,” Ms Dhar tells SBS News.
“I was dreading for my life and for my child's life.”
She hatched a plan, and began collecting five cent coins whenever she’d find them around the house.
“I learned the value of five cents, you know, with connecting five cents would make $1 and that is how I realised the importance of money and standing on my own feet,” Ms Dhar said.
“It was important for me to really keep my head at the right place so that I could give a future for my son.”
She used the $20 in five cent coins to kick-start a new life with her one-year-old after she fled the abusive relationship.
Sixteen years later, Ms Dhar is now a teacher’s aide in Victoria and has bought her own house and car.
While Ms Dhar managed to flee with her collected coins, she says it would have been a lot easier to leave under the government's new scheme to help women on temporary visas fleeing domestic violence.
As part of Budget measures announced on Tuesday, $30 million has been pledged over the next three years to help migrant and refugee women fleeing domestic violence.
The money will go towards funding grass-roots programs and supporting "social and economic inclusion" for migrant and refugee women.
Additionally, a pilot program that helps women on temporary visas experiencing domestic violence will be extended for another year at a cost of $10 million.
As part of that program, women are able to access up to $3000 to pay for food, accommodation utilities and other essentials and medical care.
The government says this will provide support for women who may be unable to access social services and welfare payments due to their visa status.
“What the government has done, it will really be a helpful measure for the women who are in that kind of a dire situation that I was in 16 years ago,” Ms Dhar says.
Nine community and women’s legal centres across the country will also be given funding to help women on temporary visas get legal assistance and migration support.
Domestic violence assistance groups have welcomed the measures but say they’re overdue when it comes to migrant and refugee women.
Renata Field, research and policy manager for Domestic Violence NSW, says the organisation has been long advocating for support for migrant and refugee women because they experience higher rates of violence, face language barriers and can’t access welfare support.
“Women on temporary visas especially find it very difficult to access support - they can’t leave the country, a lot of these women are parents to Australian children so they can’t go home but they need access and support,” she told SBS News.
“It’s a small amount of money in terms of the need but it’s fantastic it’s available.”
Some women on temporary visas face threats from their partners that they’ll be deported, Cath Scarth from migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia says.
She said it was important the women also get access to information about their rights.
“That's a very real fear for women on those temporary visas who are experiencing violence,” she said.
“So being able to make sure that they're protected from both the actual violence but also from the threat of someone saying, ‘If you don't do what I tell you, I will report you to immigration and you'll be deported,’ it's very, very important.”
Michal Morris, the chief executive of inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, says the measures are particularly important given how the pandemic has affected women in domestic violence situations.
Her organisation has seen "unprecedented growth" in demand for help.
“We've got a bunch of women who are experiencing family violence and who were not eligible for any government support - most of them can't go back home because of COVID. And there's nothing to help them,” she said.
Women in Victoria were particularly affected by lockdowns that impacted their income, she said.
“They really had to rely on services and charities,” Ms Morris told SBS News.
Ms Morris said the specific inclusion of migrant and refugee women in the Budget was a “game changer”.
“It means that they're at the table for the conversation (about domestic violence) … and getting a greater understanding.
“Hopefully there'll be more funding ahead.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
