The price of silence

The month of April started with the news of yet another domestic murder-suicide in Calgary. A man stabbed his ex-partner to death in her bed, before jumping out of the window to his death. The woman was a well respected member of the local Sudanese community. Nobody seemed to know she was experiencing serious problems with her ex-partner.

In the past few years Discovery House has seen a large increase of immigrant and refugee women among its clients. Underemployment, lack of language skills, lack of awareness of services and laws that protect women and children, are factors that contribute to the vulnerability to abuse for immigrant women. To address this population’s specific issues, Discovery House’s Immigrant and Refugee Counsellor works with each individual client, weaving a network of support around her and her family.

Often immigrant women that are leaving their violent partners are shunned by their own community, and face a thick wall of silence and hostility. Silence is our worst enemy. Martin Luther King said “Our life begins to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. For some women, silence becomes a death sentence.