In a quiet corner of Sydney’s west, HER House stands not just as a sanctuary but a revolution, a place where South Asian women and their children, survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence, are given the time, tools, and culturally-sensitive support to rebuild their lives.
Run by the Harman Foundation, HER House is more than just emergency accommodation. It is a deeply community-rooted initiative born out of listening, observing, and adapting to the specific needs of South Asian women, many of whom remain hidden in Australia’s broader domestic violence statistics.
For many, HER House is a lifeline. Launched in 2016 after years of community engagement, it began with a simple survey. In 2014, the Foundation launched a general helpline to offer assistance to vulnerable community members. To their surprise, there was an overwhelming number of calls related to domestic violence. That data lit the fuse.
“We found that people were struggling, especially international students,” founder Harinder Kaur OAM says. “They had nowhere to go. Some couldn’t afford rent. Others were fleeing abuse with children in tow.”
What started with renting a single house in Colyton evolved into something larger, more intentional, and specifically designed for South Asian survivors who couldn’t find comfort in larger shelters that failed to understand their needs.
HER House is one of the few services in Australia that offers culturally responsive care for South Asian women, something that’s not just preferable, but vital.
“In our culture, stigma and shame are big barriers,” Harinder shares. “Women often fear what the community will say. There are language gaps, religious differences, visa-related fears and some survivors are actively threatened by their partners.”
HER House’s staff reflect the community they serve, speaking the languages, understanding the cultural nuances, and offering case workers who aren’t just trained professionals, but often seen as extended family.
“Our case workers are sometimes called aunty or didi, not in a formal way, but because the women see them as someone they trust, someone who gets them,” she says.
The service goes beyond safe shelter. It offers trauma-informed, non-judgmental case management that doesn’t run on a strict three- or six-month cycle. Instead, support lasts as long as a woman and her children need to feel safe, stable, and empowered.
“For us, empowerment means the ability to make your own decisions when you’re mentally peaceful, when your children feel secure,” she explains. “Some women stay three months. Some stay a year. Healing doesn’t have a deadline.”
While HER House has become an anchor for women in crisis, Harman Foundation continues to advocate for preventative strategies – education, legal awareness, and community conversations that happen before things fall apart.
“We’ve seen that people come to us in crisis because they don’t know what their rights are,” she says. “Some think they can keep the kids and everything will be fine. Others don’t know the legal process around property or custody.”
That’s why HER House runs empowerment and education programs, not just for women, but for entire families. “We don’t believe women need to fight this alone. Community is like a village. If we want to raise stronger generations, we need to protect women and that includes educating men too.”
When asked about whether the focus should be more on policy change or educating potential offenders, Harinder says both.
“It’s complex. Sometimes the so-called perpetrator doesn’t even realise they’re doing harm. But if no one is willing to change, nothing will change,” she says. “We show people the consequences of their choices, not just for themselves, but for their children. Abuse is intergenerational. It passes on if we don’t stop it.”
In ten years, HER House has supported over 100 women and 22 children with safe accommodation. Over 500 more have received case management without needing to stay onsite. And more than 2,000 families have been supported through broader community empowerment programs.
Despite this extraordinary impact, HER House remains unfunded. The shelter runs on community donations, corporate goodwill, and the tireless work of trained volunteers, some of whom have been with the Foundation for nearly a decade.
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“We even run a 24/7 helpline with no government support,” she says. “We’re hitting targets. We’re making change. But we’re also struggling day to day.”
Her hope for the next five years is simple but urgent: sustainability.
“We can’t let HER House close,” she says. “It’s working because it’s built from within the community, for the community. But we need consistent funding so we can keep saving lives, not just reacting to crises.”
Harman Foundation’s HER House is a powerful reminder that culturally-specific care isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. And in the face of rising violence against women in Australia, this homegrown solution proves that when community and compassion come together, real change is possible.
