Status of Women committee  Yes, definitely. I think there are three programs that work really well, in our experience: the art-based programs, the parenting-based programs, and the peer-based programs. All three of them work really well with immigrant women. What is really important is to remember when y

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. I think that's the assumption that we are fighting, primarily. Part of the problem is that because of the service delivery model and from the perspective of the services we need out there, we keep on asking for services that are culturally and linguistically sensitive

Status of Women committee  As I said before, I think it needs to be a lot more inclusive in terms of how we envision a violence-free Canada and a more protective Canada for women, where women don't feel obligated to leave, report, or that you need to basically make a decision right now. We need to have an

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. I wanted to say it's not only marginalizing women, it's also marginalizing the communities they come from and targeting certain communities more so. I think it takes us away from the discourse and the reality that violence against women happens across cultures and acr

Status of Women committee  Unfortunately, I have not been part of any of the projects where men have participated in a mentor capacity, if they have perpetrated violence or if they have had experience with family violence in their family unit. But I definitely feel that could be potentially a good model. W

Status of Women committee  Absolutely, there are lots of programs, which are led by mainstream as well as ethno-specific agencies, here in the greater Toronto area that I know of. Punjabi Community Health Services is one of those programs. The CEO of that agency is Mr. Baldev Mutta and he has been leading

Status of Women committee  My recommendation to the committee—and I think I speak for Bill S-7 and all other policies, which sometimes do not meaningfully engage with the communities and the survivors. When I use the word “community” I'm not talking about the South Asian community; I am talking about commu

Status of Women committee  Most definitely I can. Women, when they face violence and are in a precarious immigrant status, which sometimes does not give them a substantial connection to Canada, definitely have less protection within the systems available to them. They sometimes are threatened with deport

Status of Women committee  Yes, definitely.

Status of Women committee  Most definitely. When we started working on the issue of forced marriages we were very much being informed by the women who are experiencing this form of violence. Just to clarify, when we started working on this issue, right from the beginning—I'm talking about since 2005—one

Status of Women committee  I'm sorry, am I clear?

Status of Women committee  Yes, it is not. I think we have spoken to that eloquently when we have found the opportunity. I want to say that this recommendation is based on our experience with the people who have lived this. It's not based on just the data; it is based on the interviews and information we

Status of Women committee  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 a

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair and honourable members, I want to thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee today. I would like to start with a quote from a research paper that I was part of a couple of years back—namely, that violence against women is a citizenship issue that fun