Refugee women reporting domestic abuse once a week, Toronto group says
Last week, the Arab Community Centre of Toronto released an alarming statistic about women reporting domestic abuse.
Zena Al Hamdan, the programs manager for the community centre, says they receive a report of domestic abuse about once a week. While it is not solely Syrian refugee women disclosing the abuse, the centre has seen them reporting in growing numbers since their arrival.
Christine Hughes is Oxfam Canada's women's rights knowledge specialist and she says this issue is one that could affect all newcomer women, not just to Toronto, but all of Canada.
While Hughes attributes "unequal gender power" to any situation in which violence against women occurs, she notes that the circumstances refugees are in — the stress and anxiety of their situation, coming to a new country where the culture is different — put these women at higher risk.
"Whether back in Syria or in refugee settings, men may be used to being the economic providers, and their identities and self-esteem are very wrapped up in those types of activities," Hughes says, " ... men may interpret [changes from moving to Canada] as threats to their household authority and may use violence as a backlash strategy."
Though Hughes "would want to emphasise that there is no justifiable excuse for violence against women."
This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar.