International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
This coming Saturday, March 24th, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. At Luke’s Place, we know that systems of violence don’t operate alone, and racial discrimination is a prevalent part of family court, and the abuse survivors may face from intimate partners.
Indigenous, Black, and racialized women in Canada continue to experience higher rates of violence, including IPV, compared to white women. Racism can be part of the abuse itself, with survivors facing racial slurs, threats tied to immigration status, or other forms of racialized control by abusive partners. At the same time, survivors may encounter bias and discrimination when navigating systems such as family court, policing, housing, and immigration processes.
These realities highlight why responses to IPV must take an intersectional approach to effectively meet the diverse needs of survivors. Survivors do not experience violence in a vacuum; race, culture, immigration status, and systemic inequities shape both the risks they face and the barriers they encounter when seeking safety and justice.
At Luke’s Place, we are committed to continuing to learn from and amplify the work of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities. Addressing IPV requires confronting racism within systems and supporting survivor-centered approaches that recognize the full context of people’s lives.
Resources for further learning:
- Intimate Partner Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women
- Black Legal Action Centre
- Gender Based Violence Through an Intersectional Lens
- Black Women’s Experiences of IPV and Criminalization
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls final report
- Indigenous Women, Intimate Partner Violence, and Housing
- Fact Sheet: Violence Against Aboriginal Women