What’s next for the ISIS families? This is how ‘de-radicalisation’ programs work in Australia

Amid great media attention, four women and nine children with links to Islamic State have returned from Syria to Australia.

Three of the women were arrested by police after touching down in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday night. One was charged with terror-related offences after arriving in Sydney, while two were charged with crimes against humanity offences after arriving in Melbourne.

Those cases will be now play out through the courts.

They will all face other challenges, too, with Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett stating some of the group “will be asked to undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs”.

So-called “de-radicalisation” programs are complex and can differ depending on the age and location of the people involved.

Let’s unpack what happens in these situations, specifically in Victoria and New South Wales, where the women and children have returned to.

Different states, different programs

Each state and territory has different programs with slightly different focuses.

In Victoria, the program is more ideologically focused. It was originally led by the Islamic Council of Victoria in cooperation with Victoria Police and Corrections Victoria.

Since then it has been revised, evaluated and taken over by Victoria’s Board of Imams who continue to work closely with authorities.

It’s a voluntary, community-led program where imams help the alleged offenders gain a better understanding of their religion, and guide them towards peaceful interpretations of their faith. It also has a therapeutic element designed to disengage people from violent extremism and aid their reintegration into the community.

There are other aspects of the program that deal with possible mental health issues and support to address specific risks and needs.

In NSW, it’s very much a social services model. You could liken it to a triage system where they look at the risks and needs of the person and then provide interventions based on addressing those specific risks and needs. For example, if someone has anger management issues, they’ll set up psychological support and education and so forth.

There’s no Australia-wide de-radicalisation program – there is federal coordination but each state and territory’s approach is slightly different through police-led intervention and support from social service agencies.

Read more: IS-linked women are facing a raft of criminal charges. A legal expert explains the laws at play

How do these programs work?

There are a lot of professionals who work in these programs: social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, legal practitioners, criminologists, religious clerics and leaders.

The key to a successful outcome is intensive engagement and trust-building.

If a person doesn’t trust the people working with them, they tend not to engage with the facilitators and often just look for a way out. But if trust has been established, others can be brought into the circle, which can include family and friends as well as mentors and trained professionals.

One of the greatest challenges is getting community cooperation. Some of the best programs are community-led rather than government-led, as communities tend to have the right cultural and religious sensitivities to ensure the program is effective. These subtleties are often missed by those on the outside of relevant communities.

But de-radicalisation is not always a linear path. There are often setbacks and failures and sometimes people re-offend.

Police play a vital role if things go wrong, such as if the person threatens to harm themselves or others. Aside from their own community engagement programs, police can step in to re-arrest the person and protect the community if needed.

The first priorities

For the families that returned to Australia this week – the throng of media, the crush of people around them – these circumstances will be traumatic. There is also stigma associated with their history and that’s going to require lots of effort to get through.

The immediate focus should be getting them out of public attention as soon as possible to dial down the pressure. Until that happens, it’s going to be very hard to get effective interventions going.

For the women who have been arrested and are being brought before the courts, there will be a judicial process where they may or may not be granted bail prior to further court hearings.

If convicted, either Corrections Victoria or Corrections NSW have dedicated prison programs. There is also a good chance they will be eligible for de-radicalisation programs before and after their release, should they wish to participate voluntarily.

There’s also going to be significant separation anxiety issues – not just between mothers and children but also the separation between the members of the group. They will have gone through a lot together and now they’re being separated, this will affect them psychologically.

What about the children?

The children involved have likely all suffered extensive trauma – living in difficult conditions in the refugee camps, suffering through extreme cold and extreme heat, poor diets and so on.

Child psychologists will be crucial, but the most immediate priority will be ensuring their basic needs are met – such as proper housing, nutritious food and getting them re-engaged with their families.

There’ll be different courses of action for the children and that will be based on age. Treatment will be different depending on a child’s age.

But first question is: what do they need straight away? Then, there’s the longer-term interventions that can hopefully produce a good outcome for the person involved, and the wider community.