#Immigrantwomentoo should feel comfortable to raise their voices against harassment

At a time in history when women feel empowered to speak out against sexual harassment — as seen on the Golden Globes stage Sunday night — immigrant women should feel comfortable to raise their voices, too.

“I get nervous. I get agitated … I almost feel uncomfortable.” This is the reaction Jamaican-born Canadian Trishauna Linton has when she learns that she will be working closely with a man. It’s an unexpected response, considering her education in women’s studies and her career at the Windsor Women Working with Immigrant Women organization, where she leads training sessions that empower women new to Canada. Looking at her past, though, her reaction to dealing with male colleagues becomes clearer. “In two different workspaces that I’ve been in, I’ve experienced blatant harassment,” she says. During the first incident, when she was just 20, she says, “I was smacked on the butt and that person thought that was fine to do …. Obviously, it really wasn’t.” Not going into detail about her second encounter with workplace sexual harassment, the Ontario resident says the experience was “a little bit more extreme.”

Though some aftereffects still exist, Linton has moved past these traumatic occurrences. Unfortunately, her experiences are far from isolated events, as is evidenced by the powerful #metoo social media campaign that arose after the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal came to light.
But it’s not just Hollywood. In a recent study by Abacus Data, 56 per cent of Canadian participants said that sexual harassment exists in their workplace, with 12 per cent saying that it’s “really quite common.”

Speaking out against harrassment
Krittika Ghosh, senior co-ordinator, violence against women, at the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), says she is happy that the #metoo campaign is encouraging women to come forward, as speaking out can be one of the hardest obstacles for victims to overcome. However, as she works with immigrant women, she points out a key difference in the experiences of newcomers compared to the celebrities who helped start the #metoo movement.

“In Hollywood … many women who spoke up were in powerful positions themselves,” she says. So, while they may have more attention on them than other survivors, they also have more resources, especially compared to newcomer women, she says. Reflecting on her workplace harassment incidents, Linton says that her immigrant status definitely influenced her experiences. However, she says, “I already had my citizenship, and I was a little bit more aware of the laws and Canadian culture. But … thinking about the [newcomer] women that I work with, that is definitely a barrier. Their status is definitely a reason why they don’t say anything.” If sharing their uncomfortable memories and worrying they will not be believed weren’t troublesome enough, Linton says some new immigrants and refugees may hesitate to speak out because losing a job can negatively impact applications for permanent residency or citizenship.

A different level of vulnerability for immigrant women
Therapist Hana Pinthus Rotchild says her newcomer clients experience a long list of factors that make them more vulnerable than others when speaking out about workplace sexual harassment. According to the Israeli-born therapist, immigrants often experience language barriers, so expressing themselves, seeking support and finding a new job can be much more difficult. Many live in situations where their family is struggling, and their income is needed for survival. Typically, they’ve also left their friends and family behind, so they don’t have their comfortable circles of support to turn to. Some newcomer women also come from cultures where women are more likely to be shamed and blamed, and they aren’t aware that their rights differ in Canada. “I feel sad for that level of vulnerability,” says Pinthus Rotchild, “but I’m also hopeful because I know that immigrants are very resilient. They have gone through a lot. They’re strong people. Many do find a way and create a different light for their families and themselves.”
In order to help immigrant women who have suffered harassment find a positive path, OCASI’s Ghosh says there’s lots we can all do.
Ghosh says friends, acquaintances and bystanders need to believe the victim and remind them that it is not their fault. Then they need to be supportive, suggest options and help the survivor pursue the actions that she wants to take.

Raising awareness about women’s equality
On a broader scale, the Indian-born Ghosh says education is key. She emphasizes the need for better awareness, and more inclusive dialogue and literature about power, gender and status imbalances, as she says a “holistic” understanding of the issues will lead to better results. “It’s starting this conversation, not just for women, but also for men,” she says. “It needs to be about moving away from the notion of a rape culture, to actually creating a consent culture and talking about what that means.” She says educational materials, such as OCASI’s new graphic novel Telling Our Stories: Immigrant Women’s Resilience, which comes in different languages and includes many illustrations and relatable scenarios, can help make discussions more accessible.

In addition to what everyday people can do, Ghosh says government needs to get involved, to give victims better reporting mechanisms, to ensure legislation is better enforced, and to make Canada a safer place for immigrant women to live and work.

In February 2017, Ontario’s first female premier launched the province’s first Ministry of the Status of Women. Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris says Ghosh’s comments are all suggestions she would be happy to consider as the ministry moves ahead with its relatively new work. The South African-born minister points out that, as an immigrant herself, she is “aware and sensitive” to the needs of newcomer workplace harassment victims, and to the needs of vulnerable women in general. She says her ministry has begun and will continue to work with women of all backgrounds to “ensure that they have a strong voice at the table.” 

“All women deserve to live their lives free of the threat, fear or experience of violence,” says Naidoo-Harris. “This is not a women’s issue. It’s an issue about building a strong society for everyone that is equal and fair.”

-CanadianImmigrant