TECHNICAL REPORT
Barriers to Justice:
Ethnocultural Minority Women and Domestic Violence - A Preliminary Discussion Paper
Nahid Roboubi
Sharon Bowles Federal
April 1991
Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Multicultural and Race-Relations in the Justice System
UNEDITED
The present study was funded by the Research and Statistics Division, Department of Justice Canada. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice Canada.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The following presents an overview of findings from various reports relevant to issues of access to justice for ethnocultural minority women who are victims of domestic violence.
1.1 General Approach
The approach taken in many reports is that the needs of ethnocultural minority women who are abused within their homes cannot be separated from the needs of ethnocultural minority women in general. Also, the way domestic violence is
understood by these women and those who provide services to them is directly linked to an awareness of violence against women in a broader sense. It reflects the belief that the roots of violence against women are deeply imbedded in societies
in which women are valued and treated as inferior to men.
LAnother important theme in the literature is that the stress of the immigration and acculturation process for new immigrants should not be considered as the cause of violence per se. But for families who are experiencing violence while going
through the stresses associated with the immigration and settlement process, assaults to wives and children may increase in frequency. However, the experience of violence is a global one which transcends racial, ethnic and national
boundaries.
1.2 A Note About Terminology
The literature surveyed revealed a lack of consensus on the appropriate terminology to describe racial and ethnic minority women. In this review of barriers to access to justice, we use the term "ethnocultural minority" women.
At times the discussion focuses on experiences that are specific to immigrant women only, while other barriers apply to ethnocultural minority women in general.
1.3 Source Material
The literature reviewed for this discussion comes from a variety of sources including research, conference proceedings, academic literature, and individual submissions made to various groups, panels and committees. Time constraints did not
permit the referencing of sources within the document.
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