Research in Brief
Identifying and responding to family violence in Muslim communities: The potential impact on the identification and response to family violence by family law lawyers

This is a summary of the report entitled “Identifying and responding to family violence in Muslim communities: The potential impact on the identification and response to family violence by family law lawyers” by Mohammed Baobaid^{Footnote 1} (2020).

Background

Muslim women who experience family violence are navigating two different systems: the Canadian system that protects their individual rights, and the community to which they belong and want to remain a part of, which is collectivist. In collectivist communities, such as the Muslim community, the interests of the community override those of the individual, or at least carry equal weight. Muslim women in Canada are faced with unique challenges as they balance their individual rights against their obligations to their family and collectivist community.

Muslim Canadians are a very diverse population with different life experiences and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is important to note that Muslim women’s experiences of family violence are not all the same.

Method

This evidence-based paper draws on effective intervention strategies informed by research, outreach, and engagement to share knowledge about the challenges faced by Muslim victims of family violence. It shares the lessons learned from the Muslim Resource Centre for Social Support and Integration (MRCSSI) with service providers in Ontario.

Key Findings

Muslim women experiencing family violence face many barriers to seeking help, including:

• maintaining family unity
• stigma and shame
• fear of rejection and losing the support of their community
• fear of being deported
• fear of losing children
• not wanting the perpetrator to be charged

This research identifies three key factors that help understand Muslim women’s experiences of family violence:

• Religion: how Islamic teachings are interpreted and the influence of those teachings on their family obligations
• Culture: the level of openness versus insularity of the specific culture contributes to rigidity in upholding traditional gender roles and family hierarchy as well as their understanding of family violence
• Migration experience: residual trauma from pre-migration experiences can affect how family and gender roles are perceived by men and women. Difficulties with integration can also contribute to family violence risk factors

The Four-Aspect Screening Tool (FAST) developed by MRCSSI examines dynamics specific to the collectivist and immigrant context that may have a positive or negative impact on family wellbeing and safety. It helps uncover risks to the safety of women and children based on:

• universal aspects, such as unaddressed mental health concerns, poverty, housing insecurity or a history of witnessing family violence as a child
• migration aspects, including sponsorship and legal status, integration, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as the trauma, loss and grief experienced by refugees and immigrants
• ethno-cultural aspects, which may include a person’s informal support network, language barriers and approaches to disciplining children
• religious and faith aspects, such as the importance of religion in resolving disputes or the use of Islamic teachings to address family issues

Even as Muslim communities in Canada are growing, there are few culturally specific resources for family violence. The report highlights three helpful resources:

• The MRCSSI was created to meet the unique needs of families experiencing violence, bridge gaps between mainstream providers, and ultimately provide a cultural lens that promotes the consideration of the migratory, cultural, and religious contexts.
• Muslim Family Services of Ottawa is a counselling and psychotherapy clinic that provides culturally sensitive counselling and spiritual counselling to Muslim Canadians.
• Nisa Homes is collection of six transitional homes in different locations in Canada, set up exclusively for immigrant and refugee Muslim women. It enables women to remain connected to their cultural community.

Policy and Program Implications

This research aligns with the “supporting survivors and their families” and the “promoting responsive legal and justice systems” pillars of both It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence and the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

Research about family violence should include a collectivist perspective instead of limiting itself to an individualistic understanding of family violence and its impacts. It must go beyond the nuclear family to include the larger community. This will enable programs and policies to reflect the unique experiences and needs of the Muslim community while using an evidence-based approach.

This research highlights the need for more culturally appropriate services and interventions for survivors of family violence. When it comes to responding to family violence in the Muslim community, these interventions must consider the challenge of navigating both an individualistic and a collectivist system, as well as religious considerations such as an Islamic divorce. Another important consideration for providing culturally appropriate services mentioned in this report is providing adequate translation for individuals who do not speak English or French. When language interpretation is required, it is important to take into consideration the survivor’s privacy and to discuss with them who will translate. For example, to guarantee anonymity, many people will want a translator who is unknown to them.

For services to be culturally appropriate and accessible, lawyers and service providers need to practice cultural humility by being non-judgmental, critical of their personal biases and open to their client’s culture and experiences. Cultural humility makes services more respectful of other cultural and religious perspectives.