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March 8, 2004
Nowhere to Turn?
Abused Immigrant and Visible Minority Women
Not Getting Help They Need
TORONTO – A major new study by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) highlights the need for comprehensive, coordinated and culturally appropriate strategies to reach immigrant and visible minority women who are victims of partner violence.
"Immigrant and visible minority women who are abused are uniquely vulnerable," said study author Dr. Ekuwa Smith, a senior research associate at the CCSD. "They may be isolated by limited language skills, for example, or fearful that reporting the abuse will result in the family being deported. If they do seek help, they may feel lost and alienated in service systems that are not sensitive to the needs of this population of women."
The study, called Nowhere to Turn? Responding to Partner Violence Against Immigrant and Visible Minority Women, included focus groups with frontline workers in seven cities across the country – Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax – as well as a two-day National Forum, key informant interviews, and a review of relevant literature and available data.
"I was struck by the fact that from city to city, frontline workers repeatedly identified the same issues – like the shortage of interpretation services and language training for new immigrants. As one frontline worker said: How can women who cannot speak English or French call 9-1-1?" said Dr. Smith.
"They also emphasized the need to provide these women with information they can understand about their rights, and put community support workers in place to help them navigate the Canadian justice and human services systems."
Dr. Smith said that funding cuts for community-based services and the lack of a comprehensive action plan have resulted in systems that cannot respond adequately to the needs of these women.
More than 70 organizations participated in the study, which was funded by the Department of Justice Canada through the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI). Building on the links created through this study, the CCSD is moving forward to create a national network that will bring together community workers, law enforcement personnel, victims’ advocates, researchers, funders and policy-makers.
"The network will continue the dialogue for change," said Marcel Lauzière, CCSD President. "It will promote the exchange of knowledge and best practices, improvements in service delivery, and strategies to increase coordination across service systems."
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For more information, contact Janet Creery, CCSD Communications Officer at (613) 236-8977 extension 228.
This study and other CCSD research work are available on our website at www.ccsd.ca.
The Canadian Council on Social Development is one of Canada’s key authoritative voices promoting better social and economic security for all Canadians. A national, self-supporting, member-based organization, the Council's main product is information and its main activity is research, focussing on issues such as child well-being, economic security, poverty, cultural diversity, and government social policies.
Nowhere to Turn - full report and related material
Canadian Council on Social Development,
190 O'Connor Street, Suite 100,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2R3
Tel: (613) 236-8977, Fax: (613) 236-2750, Web: www.ccsd.ca, Email: council@ccsd.ca
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