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Woman Abuse
In Canada, woman abuse (stalking and physical and sexual abuse) is considered a criminal act. There are several forms of woman abuse in our society.
FORMS OF ABUSE
Verbal Insults, shouting, swearing, put-downs and degrading language.
Emotional Abuse Threatening behaviour, (i.e. threats to harm or murder the woman and/or children, threats to take away the children, threats to commit suicide or murder-suicide). Neglect of emotional needs.
Psychological Abuse Inducing fear, accusations, excessive suspicions of the woman's actions, isolating and undermining. Not letting you have privacy when you want too. Dumb, stupid, incompetent.
Financial Abuse Financial abuse as a form of isolating and disempowering the abused woman. Financial abuse is also a control mechanism that limits the woman from becoming independent or looking for social supports. This type of abuse can manifest itself in behaviours such as checking the gas gage on the car or the odometer to see how much gas was used or miles driven and/or dolling out small amounts of money, forcing the victim to ask for more. If the abuse woman works outside the family home she is often forced to deposit her pay cheque into her partner's bank account. Often the abuser will put all the family assets in his name. For the abuser money is an extension of power. (Miller, 1995; Hoffman, 1984). The abused woman is aware that if she leaves her partner, she and her children may live in poverty thereafter. (Fraser, 1992).
Courtesy of Education Wife Assault www.womanabuseprevention.com
Religious/Spiritual Abuse Degrading another person's spiritual beliefs, with-holding means of practice, forcing adherence to belief system.
Sexual Abuse Any act of sexual nature that is unwanted.
Physical Abuse Slapping, shoving, hitting, torture, stabbing, beating, assault with a weapon, and or murder. Pushing, restraining.
Stalking (Criminal Harassment) Persistently following someone, harassing telephone calls, threatening someone.
Isolation Not using phone, allowing extended family
Immigration Women new to Canada experienced both emigration (leaving everything familiar behind) and immigration (getting used to strange new surroundings). Many speak neither official language and they may have no family here.
Among the community of new Canadians, there is a great variability in attitudes and opinions, according to recency of emigration, education level, proficency in English, religious commitment, community support infrastructure, and personal experience. Women new to Canada experience the same range of emotions and reactions as all women who are abused – fear, shame, hope for change – but seeking assistance from our social and legal systems may be a daunting task because of beliefs about the family, barriers to service, and concerns about immigrations issues.
d Fear of consequences of divorce or criminal charge on her immigration status d Fear of deportation (and possibly having to leave children in Canada) d Belief she does not qualify for Ontario Works because of sponsorship
Beliefs about the Family: d Focus on needs of the family unit as a whole over her own needs. Family matters are private and not to be discussed with others d Belief that a husband’s behaviour must be tolerated by a wife d Divorce may lead to ostracization from the community d Traditional ideas of gender roles: women are compliant, men are in charge d Need to project image of “good woman” to the community d Strong prescriptions against divorce
System Issues & Barriers: d Language barrier prevents seeking advice and assistance d Fear of police in rooted in experience of police as corrupt or arm of state repression in country of origin d Not wanting husband charged may prevent calls (or subsequent calls) to police d Fear of shelters and deep embarrassment if shelters are used d Fear of Children’s Aid Society d Going to a professional may be last resort after family or religious leader
A Newcomer’s Introduction to Canada: Family Life & Family Law
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