Migrant Women and Social Service Providers Responding to Changes in Immigration Policy
The Migrant Mothers Project was formed in 2010, through a partnership between Rupaleem Bhuyan (University of Toronto), Mercedes Umaña (Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre) and an active network of community partners working to address violence against immigrant women. This research uses participatory action research methods, interviews, community consultations and policy analysis to understand how immigration policies are impacting immigrant rights and the capacity of social and health service providers to work with people who have precarious migratory status.
Phase I – Negotiating Citizenship and Social Rights from the Margins: A Study of Migrant Women Seeking Violence Against Women Services in Canada (2010-2012)
From 2010-2012 we conducted in-depth interviews with 25 Spanish-speaking women from Latin America. Women shared their experiences with migration and violence and how they are supporting themselves and their children while living with precarious status in Canada. Many of the participants were in the process of applying for refugee status; the majority had their refugee claims denied. Participants described how their precarious status creates barriers for themselves and their children to access vital services such as education, health care, legal, social assistance and employment. We also partnered with the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women against Rape to host a 12-week peer-led solidarity group where women exchanged knowledge and mutual support.
Phase II – Community Forums (2013)
In the Spring/Summer of 2013 we organized seven community forums in different regions of Ontario and across Canada. These forums brought together service providers, legal advocates and immigrant women to discuss how immigration policies are impacting access to services and justice for women with precarious immigration status. Forums were organized in partnership with local community organizations in Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, St. Catharines, Windsor, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. Through these forums, we documented
regional dynamics on how service providers navigate the federal and provincial policies in order provide services for women and their children. We also identified gaps in services and the negative impact that immigration enforcement activities (i.e. detention, deportations, and workplace raids) are having on access to services.Read summaries from the Community Forums here.
Phase III – Mobilizing Community-Based Knowledge On Recent Changes to Canadian Immigration Policy (2014)
In January 2014 the MMP in partnership with Woman Abuse Council of Toronto: WomanACT received a “Knowledge Mobilization” grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). This grant will allow the MMP to disseminate and mobilize knowledge in three areas:
- Digital Stories – MMP collaborated with community partners to create Digital Stories with women who have precarious immigration status. The Digital Stories provide a platform for women with precarious status to share their struggles in Canada and to raise awareness of the different forms of vulnerability associated with precarious status. View participants’ digital stories here.
- Policy Report – Unprotected, Unrecognized: Canadian Immigration Policy and Violence Against Women, 2008-2013. This report uses a gendered lens to understand the impacts of policy changes on women and their families.
- National Symposium – The MMP in partnership with Women Abuse Council of Toronto organized a symposium on the Intersections of Violence Against Women and Precarious Immigration Status. The general goal of this Symposium is to bring together a representation of people across Ontario and Canada who are engaged in policy analysis and community mobilization in response to changes in immigration policy, the production of “illegality” and impacts on violence against women.
Funding
This research is supported through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s Standard Research Grant, an award from CERIS – The Ontario Metropolis Centre, and the University of Toronto Connaught New Researcher Award.
Community Collaborators
Harmy Mendoza, Woman Abuse Council of Toronto: Woman ACT
Mercedes Umaña, Women’s Health in Women’s Hands Community Health Centre and PhD Candidate, OISE/UT, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies