Status of Women committee  It's the way in which South Asian women have been socialized. This is part of their journey. Even the man is selected for them, or whoever it is, and they have to complete that particular role as a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law and a sister-in-law. A South Asian woman is essentially married to the family, and I'm using the word marriage only because it's such a tradition-bound community.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. The only thing I would request from you is to ensure that it's a realistic livable income, and not something that.... Rents in Toronto for a single bedroom are about $1,500, and I'm being conservative. If you're talking about a livable income for a woman who's trying to support her two children, please ensure that it is realistic.

Status of Women committee  I want to say and add to all of these solutions that I don't think there is a concrete one type of solution to fix all of the issues that have emerged post COVID or during COVID. We know that the women we serve come from two countries, sometimes even three, and therefore, when there was death and illness of a parent or a partner in another country, it was very difficult for families to meet.

Status of Women committee  Was that question for me? I couldn't get the interpretation.

Status of Women committee  No. I know I had to press this button, but I wasn't able to. I'm sorry. I'm new to this.

Status of Women committee  Farrah alluded to some of the issues, but what I want to say, as an immigrant woman and a racialized South Asian woman.... I don't know. In our home, this was something that wasn't even discussed. There was no talk about gender identity. You were raised to listen. You were not allowed to talk about these things.

Status of Women committee  Farrah—

Status of Women committee  Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to speak. I appreciate the time you've given me. Thank you so much, each and every one of you from the standing committee, for listening and hearing the voices of the South Asian women I have been trying to represent through many years of work.

Status of Women committee  Okay. I'm also going to very quickly touch on the work we did with St. Michael's Hospital. We were called in to work with St. Michael's Hospital. They got a grant to work on looking at the issue around the girl child, the girl baby, the sex selection abortion. We worked on that issue and the results were startling.

Status of Women committee  Some of the things we did when we were doing this project and a previous project were to bring young men and fathers into the room. We had separate sessions with them to talk about how they would support their daughters or their spouses. Some of the results were startling. Some of the young men said, “Well, we have to be the protectors of our sisters.”

Status of Women committee  We are not a shelter. We are a centre, but we work closely with shelters. Quite often we are told there is no space in one shelter, so try another shelter. We go to central intake and then, of course, we get the runaround. It's very hard sometimes to find enough space. I think shelter space has to be increased, but more important than transitional housing is some form of permanent housing for women who have gone through this kind of abuse.

Status of Women committee  It's a cycle.

Status of Women committee  I think the education system is a critical factor, and it's a critical piece of this whole issue. The issue is getting people into that educational system, growing them through that educational system, and understanding the complexities that occur as a result of young South Asian women and young South Asian boys who go through the system, who meet with their peers, and who have a different conversation than what they have at home.

Status of Women committee  Here's the thing that we do, and we do it best. When a woman walks in through the door, first of all, we have to make sure she's comfortable to disclose her issue. Then we do what is known as an intake and an assessment. Based on the assessment, we look at the number of units of service she needs.

Status of Women committee  You would be surprised how most of the clients come to us through word of mouth and referrals and even through agencies from the government, from doctors, from police officers who refer them to the South Asian Women's Centre. They come from as far away as Ajax, Brampton, Scarborough, etc.