Ishar Multicultural Women's Health Services

Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Services provides a range of holistic services to women from all walks of life and cultural background. Ishar is a LGBTQI friendly service and welcomes women of any sexual orientation, anyone who identifies as a woman and anyone who was assigned female identity at birth. As the only Women’s Health Centre specifically addressing the needs of women from CaLD backgrounds, Ishar operates on the ‘social model of health’ in which the presenting ‘medical’ condition is not separate from the interconnections of personal, social, economic, cultural, age and gender related problems. Ishar provides approximately 50,000 contact services plus 300 discrete services to women of over 100 ethnicities annually. Ishar provides a wide range of health and wellbeing services to CaLD women, counselling, informing, enabling and empowering them to gain the skills, confidence and self-esteem to take pride in their origins while seeking active involvement in their new community. Ishar currently operates a clinical health service offering a female GP providing a range of preventative reproductive health services; a registered nurse/midwife assisting women through their pregnancy/ies in Australia; three clinical psychologists specialising in domestic and family violence and addressing other mental health issues, two social workers and a dedicated domestic violence support officer assisting with domestic violence, mental health issues as well as practical support. A second stream of services addresses Family Support, providing information on health, nutrition, parenting, relationships, employment and other topics raised by participants, held together within a social environment built around sewing / dressmaking classes. Carer services is funded by Mental Health and focuses on support for carers of adults with mental health problems, providing one-on-one counselling support, group socialisation, information and activities, group outings and respite.