EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Although FV is experienced in every culture and society, racialized immigrant children living with FV are underrepresented in academic literature. While there is significant literature on the impact of FV on children, there is scant literature on the impact of FV on racialized immigrant children in Canada or elsewhere. This lack of understanding of racialized immigrant children’s experience of FV can lead to a misrepresentation of their perspectives and an ineffective response by way of services that support these children.

This book presents the findings and recommendations of the research ‘Voices of Racialized Immigrant Youth who Experienced Family Violence as Children,’ conducted in 2020. The study used Van Manen’s (1990) phenomenological approach of inquiry to obtain a description of family violence (FV) and the meaning of the experience for the racialized immigrant youth. As participants recalled their childhood experiences of FV, they simultaneously reflected and made meaning of their experiences.

The study was reviewed and approved by the research ethics boards (REB) of Toronto Metropolitan University and Sheridan College. Efforts were made to recruit racialized youth who reflected diversity in gender, education, culture, country of origin, and immigration status (Kall & Zeiler, 2014). Participants were purposively selected according to the following eligibility criteria:

1. had directly or indirectly experienced FV in childhood;
2. self-identified as a racialized immigrant;
3. were between 21 and 29 years of age;
4. had not had serious mental health challenges that prevented them from articulating their experiences;
5. FV-related formal/institutional intervention in their life had to have ended three years before participation in this research.

Based on these criteria, 12 participants contacted the researcher, Purnima George, and expressed interest in participating in the study. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the interviews were conducted virtually on Zoom using in-depth, semi-structured interviews as the data collection method. Interviews lasted between 90 and 180 minutes. In keeping with the phenomenological approach, the interviews captured participants’ experiences and interpretations of FV, the impact of these experiences on their lives, and the response of societal institutions. Additional questions emerged during the course of the interviews. The participants shared their rich, insightful experiences and interpretations.

Care was taken to see that the themes emerging from the data analysis formed a composite description and context of the phenomenon of FV and its impact. The study’s preliminary findings were shared with the participants for feedback on the accuracy and representation of the information they shared (Padgett, 2017).

There were a number of findings that emerged from the data analysis. You can find a comprehensive discussion of these findings in SECTION 6: MAJOR FINDINGS. There were also a number of recommendations that emerged from the participants about supporting families and children experiencing FV. These recommendations can be found below and in SECTION 8: RESPONDING TO PARTICIPANTS’ RECOMMENDATIONS and SECTION 9: DISCUSSION. Because the research team looked at FV through social, community, and legal lenses, the recommendations address each of these areas.

RECOMMENDATION #1

Focus on the strengths of children who have experienced FV and provide them with support to bolster their strengths.

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #1

1. Create opportunities within curricula for children in elementary school to learn about violence, the impact of violence, and safe options for discussing the experience of violence. Normalizing the occurrence of violence but not normalizing the violence is important for reducing the stigma associated with FV
2. Conduct strengths-based assessments of children’s skills and interests and design programs and activities in consultation with children

RECOMMENDATION #2

Recognize siblings as unique individuals with different ways of interpreting and responding to FV.

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #2

1. Instead of developing common supports for all the children in a family, conduct an individual assessment of their individual experiences of the FV and its varied impact, including changes in family relationships. Based on this assessment, plan individualized support for each child in consultation with the child.

RECOMMENDATION #3

Provide community-wide education to create more awareness about FV

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #3

1. Establish rapport with community members and community and religious leaders and gain the trust of community members
2. Create audio-visual educational materials highlighting the negative impact of FV on children in the languages spoken in the children’s community
3. Develop support groups for men, women, and youth (boys, girls, non-binary youth) and offer safe space for discussion and finding pathways for resolving tensions
4. Challenge mental health and FV-related stigma in ethnic communities
5. Provide free community-based, trauma-informed, culturally appropriate counselling services for anyone affected by FV
6. Engage community members in designing and implementing services

RECOMMENDATION #4

Schools need to play an essential role in supporting children who experience family violence.

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #4

1. Organize after-school homework sessions to support children who do not have parental support due to FV
2. Provide training in effective communication, anger management, and life skills
3. Provide sports and arts-based activities as an outlet
4. Support teachers to develop pedagogical strategies that engage quiet and withdrawn children
5. Offer a safe space for children to share their experiences and responses with either a teacher or a guidance counsellor without fear of being uprooted from their family
6. Increase counselling support in schools

RECOMMENDATION #5

Acknowledge how systemic violence intersects with and exacerbates experiences of family violence

RECOMMENDATION #6

Examine and rectify policies that maintain systemic inequity for racialized immigrants

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS #5 AND #6

1. Recognize the role systemic violence plays in exacerbating FV and provide supports to families that are experiencing systemic violence
2. Recognize that systemic violence such as racism, exclusion, poverty, unsafe neighbourhoods, and escaping war creates trauma and children and individuals who have experienced such violence need trauma-informed mental health supports
3. Provide funding and engage community-based organizations to address FV in communities.
4. Provide holistic supports for all family members tailormade to their unique needs with a focus on their recovery and healing.
5. The trauma-informed supports should focus on removing the guilt, shame, and low self-esteem experienced by children experiencing FV by establishing a connection between their plight and systemic factors
6. Provide material support beyond minimum wage, child tax benefits, and welfare support to families facing systemic violence for equity and social justice
7. Establish breakfast clubs in schools for children from low-income families
8. Offer cost-free programs for children to channel and enhance skills and interests
9. Support and initiate a broad-based opposition/coalition that cuts across sectors and disciplines to advocate for systemic change

RECOMMENDATION #7

Ensure that children are informed of and have a voice in the decision-making that is part of the family court process

RECOMMENDATION #8

Canada’s child welfare system must interrogate the racism, colonial bias, and classism inherent in its practices

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS #7 AND #8

1. Because the child is not a passive witness, their insights into how the child welfare system should be designed would positively impact the experience of future children experiencing FV. Including the voices of racialized immigrant children would contribute to reducing the racism, colonialism, and classism that are inherent in its practices
2. Training practitioners in the social, community, and justice sectors should include introducing supportive ways to interact with children and youth, with a focus on ensuring that their voices are included in the process

RECOMMENDATION #9

Expand the current understanding of the Best Interest of the Child as outlined by the Divorce Act and recognize the impact of systemic violence on children

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #9

1. The Best Interest of the Child is determined not only by personal/family factors, but also by systemic factors, specifically for children from racialized and marginalized families. What it means to be in the best interests of a child needs to be expanded to include systemic violence (i.e., it is not in children’s best interests to live with poverty, racism, and social exclusion)
2. Children and youth need to be involved in discussions about what is in the best interests of the child. We must consider not only FV but also systemic factors to determine what is needed to meet individual children’s needs
3. Anti-FV policies and practices must become more responsive to the systemic inequities impacting racialized immigrant children in Canada. Until there is a recognition of the systemic violence of racism and poverty and a response to end it and until there is a genuine commitment to address issues faced by racialized immigrant children, and above all, until the rights of these children as individuals are respected, these inequities will persist

RECOMMENDATION #10

Provide anti-racist, anti-colonial, trauma-based, and culturally appropriate training for educators, social, community, and justice practitioners.

IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATION #10

1. Prioritize training for service providers in anti-racist, anti-colonial, trauma-based and culturally informed practice, conducted in collaboration with community partners
2. Train professionals to focus on early intervention and prevention of FV
3. Train professionals to assess the connections between personal and systemic risk factors as they contribute to FV and respond appropriately using culturally appropriate approaches
4. Train professionals to include practices that focus on recovery and healing from the trauma of FV