# @victoriapolice on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C4oe1lMxlNN
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11861734-victoriapolice-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/b167e933bc.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-03-17T22:42:40.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Victoria Police (@victoriapolice) — https://gondola.cc/victoriapolice

## Caption

It’s #HarmonyWeek – a time to celebrate our multicultural society with nearly half of Australians born overseas or having at least one parent who was. 🎉⁣
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Senior Constable Dee Kuchenmeister is a member whose work proactively supports and engages with refugees in the Geelong community. ⁣
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Dee has been working with local Karen and Afghan women who expressed a fear of police due to interactions with police in their countries. ⁣
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As well as breaking down barriers with police, she’s also taught the participants about road safety, prejudicial crimes, and how to access emergency support and request a translator. These important interactions and discussions aim to empower the women to feel safe and equipped to seek help if they need it. ⁣
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Since starting the sessions last April, Dee has noticed the change in the participants’ interactions towards her, commenting that many of them struggled to look at her in the beginning, now seem comfortable and happy around her. ⁣
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“One of the women came up to me at the end of the first session and said, ‘At the start of the day I couldn’t even look at you sideways because of your uniform, now I can look right at you and smile’.” ⁣
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Dee’s passion for her work is evident and, in some cases, infectious, with a couple of the participants now themselves wanting to become police officers to give back to their new country. ⁣
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 #EveryoneBelongs

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 421
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- **Comments:** 4

## Tags

harmonyweek, everyonebelongs

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