Most of the work the South Asian Legal Clinic has been recognized as leading is on the issue around forced marriages and the voice we have given to that issue. We also work with a lot of women with immigration law issues, conditional permanent residency, and sometimes when they are themselves considered to be committing a fraud while they are facing violence and not committing a fraud with immigration.
Our experiences have taught us that violence against women is not something that is specific to the community. That's something we are struggling with because we know that a lot of discourse around violence against women and violence against women of colour suddenly becomes about who they are rather than what they have experienced. I think that's what we have learned. It's not about their background. It's not about their religion. It's not about their culture. It's about their individual stories. Unfortunately, when we are trying to look at a policy, we're trying to bring in law reform, we get caught in the fact that they are Muslim women, or we get caught in the fact that they are South Asian women, but unfortunately that's not what it is about. It is about everyone's individual experience and the lack of sensitivity in the system around trying to learn what that individual experience is.
My colleagues from Nova Scotia here are talking about the leadership program they have and I'm a big fan of those programs. When you let the women who have survived and women who have lived experiences lead education and lead these programs, it actually adds a different dimension. It informs you differently and you will think above and beyond what their religion is or what their background is or what their colour is.