Thank you, Beba.
To put it in perspective, women and girls receive unequal treatment from their own fathers, husbands and brothers, simply because they're not seen as equals. Without family or friends to turn to for help, women are choosing violence rather than becoming homeless. In addition, women are exposed to spousal abuse not only from their partners, but also their in-laws who stay in the same house, and this abuse can be physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, or sexual, to name a few.
CIWA counsellors have seen cases where their client is abused equally by their husband and in-laws who live in the same home. In May 2014, a Calgary woman and her friend were killed by her husband who she recently separated from, while trying to retrieve her belongings.
Recently, in the news we have seen a growing number of honour violence, femicide cases, against immigrant girls. A Calgary mother from Chechnya killed her daughter because she did not have the ability and support to handle the parental stress in a new country. We're all aware of the Shafia family case. As well, in the early 1990s an immigrant man killed his sister and her husband in a Calgary mall parking lot, simply because the sister had secretly married a man the family disapproved of and deemed her actions as a disgrace to the family name.
Forced marriages are yet another immigrant-specific example that leads to family violence. We are well aware of girls being sent back to their home country by their parents to be married to an older man because the family found out the girl was dating or was having a relationship with a boy. We also know of instances where girls are tricked into going back home for a visit and the family in their home country takes over the marriage arrangement from there. We have coordinated with police to have them intervene and stop the parents at the airport from taking their daughters to their home country.
Finally, the last example that we wish to shed some light on is the hidden violence against women. Hidden violence is due to shame, family expectations, traditions, etc. The best example of this kind of abuse is abuse against senior women who come to Canada as caregivers, homemakers, to help their own children be successful very fast. That leaves them with no money for their own resources and they end in as the most affected segment of the family, specifically when they do not receive any respect from their own grandchildren because of the cultural differences.
Another example is the physical and emotional abuse against immigrant girls by their own mothers, fathers or brothers for wanting more independence and to fit in their schools. They are being perceived as behaving in a manner that is not acceptable by their culture, such as not wearing the traditional clothing or head scarf in school, dating, having a boyfriend, or hanging out with friends.
Many immigrant women do not report abuse because women who ask for assistance from agencies or supports outside the family face ostracism.
Over to you again, Beba.