1 Syrian refugee a week reports being a victim of domestic abuse, agency says

Another reminder of the challenges of integration:

That “trauma of migration” can be a trigger for violence, but there are other factors.

Among them, women asserting themselves more forcefully upon arriving in a country where they feel freer to do so, said Zena Al Hamdan, a program manager at the Arab Community Centre.

“It creates a backlash on the male partners. They become more aggressive and more defensive and they want to assert dominance more because of the perception that the West, that society will support the female,” she said.

When she arrived in Canada in 2011 from Syria, Hayat Zaid she wasn’t sure how she’d be received.

Then 14, she was scared of being bullied in school but also unsure how much freedom she’d actually have to pursue her own interests.

“When I came, I was really shy because I was a hijabi and I couldn’t do certain things like swimming or other things in my religion I’m not allowed to,” she told the Commons committee Wednesday.

“But my family was really supportive, and the Boys and Girls Club was really supportive too, and I overcame my shyness and I did what I loved.”

Now 18, Zaid has received a scholarship to study early childhood education at Algonquin College in Ottawa and has spent more than 800 hours volunteering with the Boys and Girls club in the hope others can benefit.

“It’s a really free place when you can overcome your shyness.”

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/05/19/1-syrian-refugee-a-week-reports-being-a-victim-of-domestic-abuse-agency-says.html