Shelters seeing more domestic abuse in immigrant community in north

Incidents of domestic abuse among newcomers in Sudbury are increasing with the influx of immigrants to the northeast, according to the executive director of an emergency shelter for women fleeing abusive relationships.

"Oftentimes, they're isolated in their home, withheld food, locked in a room, and so even being able to access any type of support, whether it's informal or formal, is a real barrier," said Marlene Gorman, the executive director of YWCA Sudbury who operates the YWCA Genevra House, describing the challenging situation facing  immigrant domestic abuse victims in Sudbury. 

Gorman says immigrant women often do not report such cases to authorities in fear of deportation. Rather, many of these women would go directly to the emergency shelter for help. 

"They're dependent on their spouse who has sponsored them to come to Canada, come to Sudbury, and once they get here, they realize who they came here for is a different person, an abusive person and they're not being treated well," explained Gorman.

"They're afraid to leave because they have no other means to support themselves. They figure there is nowhere else to go…. The only person that they know and have been around is their abuser."

Gorman says many victims do not speak up due to concerns around immigration status, language barriers and racism; rather they're fighting to escape their abuse but stay in the country in silence.

She says many of the women who immigrated to Sudbury were sponsored by their spouses or partners. Women are often threatened by their abuser, and told their immigration applications will be pulled, or their sponsorship cancelled.

"They're stuck trying to do this on their own without the financial means. I don't even know if there's any immigration lawyers here in Sudbury. A lot of people have to go to Toronto to get their papers completed," said Gorman.

"The trauma of abuse with all of the other things that she has to do, traveling from Sudbury to Toronto and figuring out where she's going there with a language barrier, feeling vulnerable. Without support, it would be even more difficult."

Margarita Pintin-Perez is the former senior coordinator for the Initiative to End Gender Based Violence at the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants. She now, works at Western University as a community partnership leader at the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children. She explains the idea further.

"We attach immigration status as a necessary status to get access to benefits to support, to services in Canada. You can't apply for housing, childcare… This becomes a huge barrier that can force women to stay in unsafe situations."

The Government of Canada created temporary resident permits for victims of family violence in 2019. According to the news release, the permit recognizes the increased vulnerability of victims of family violence who are out-of-status and dependent on their abusive spouse/partner for their status. It allows access to an open work permit or study permit, as well as healthcare coverage through the Interim Federal Health Program, including medical and psychological services and prescription drug coverage.

However, Pintin-Perez says many immigrants may be unaware of their options due to language barriers. "They might be unfamiliar with the Canadian legal system, the community resources. They're also facing heightened anxieties about being involved, interacting with government systems due to their immigration status."

Pintin-Perez says structural racism may also lead to feelings of social isolation. "There can be further harms that are happening and being reproduced, even in the spaces they might be accessing support and services."