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Incidents of domestic abuse among newcomers in Sudbury are increasing with the influx of immigrants to the northeast, according to the executive director of an emergency shelter for women fleeing abusive relationships.
"Oftentimes, they're isolated in their home, withheld food, locked in a room, and so even being able to access any type of support, whether it's informal or formal, is a real barrier," said Marlene Gorman, the executive director of YWCA Sudbury who operates the YWCA Genevra House, describing the challenging situation facing immigrant domestic abuse victims in Sudbury.
Gorman says immigrant women often do not report such cases to authorities in fear of deportation. Rather, many of these women would go directly to the emergency shelter for help.
"They're dependent on their spouse who has sponsored them to come to Canada, come to Sudbury, and once they get here, they realize who they came here for is a different person, an abusive person and they're not being treated well," explained Gorman.
"They're afraid to leave because they have no other means to support themselves. They figure there is nowhere else to go…. The only person that they know and have been around is their abuser."
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