January 16 - 31, 2019
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Female international students are more likely to be
sexually assaulted and less likely to be helped
(Vancouver, BC) In the #MeToo
era, more women are disclosing
sexual assaults, but international
students who are more likely to be
sexually assaulted are less likely to get
the support they need.
There were almost 110,00
international students at all levels
in Metro Vancouver in 2017. The
rate for all post-secondary students
experiencing sexual assault is one in
five female students and new research
confirms that international students
reported more sexual assault than
domestic students and experience
more intense fear, helplessness, and
horror after victimization.
International students who
identify as women are particularly
vulnerable to sexual assault. Some
perpetrators of sexual violence see
international students as easy targets
-- too ashamed to report sexual
assaults, unaware of where they can
get help and influenced by different
cultural norms.
Maham Kamal Khanum, an
international student from Pakistan
who is at UBC, explains that sexual
violence is normalized in her home
country and that “it was almost
a culture shock to learn how
unacceptable sexual violence was
here.”
Canadian-born college women
who chose to disclose a sexual assault
tend to turn to their mothers or female
peers first, but these options are not
readily available to many international
students whose mothers are overseas
and who don’t have close friends here.
So, many may turn to the staff at their
schools for support and guidance.
Several international students
have told MOSAIC that they received
no support or guidance from their
schools when they disclosed a sexual
assault. For example, a twenty-one-
year-old female student told us that
after she was assaulted, she didn’t
know where to turn. She eventually
disclosed the assault to her teacher
who didn’t believe her and made her
fear that she would be kicked out of
school.
Olga Stachova, Chief Executive
Officer, said the strong likelihood of
international students who have been
sexually assaulted to seek support
from their educational institutions
“puts the onus on them to ensure
their staff are prepared to respond
appropriately.
“International education is
a competitive business and if BC
wants to continue to attract large
numbers of students, staff at host
institutions should be equipped
with the knowledge and skills they
need to respond effectively to their
international, as well as Canadian-
born, students who disclose sexual
assault. This would not only enhance
BC’s reputation as a provider of quality
international education but also help
reduce the trauma experienced by
survivors of sexual assault.”
Several of the larger educational
institutions have taken steps to
provide appropriate support to
international students who have
been sexually assaulted. The Fraser
International College at Simon Fraser
University, for example, incorporates
sexual education into the transition
curriculum for all new international
students.
MOSAIC has found, however,
that many of the smaller schools with
significant numbers of international
students do not have such policies
or services in place. To fill that gap,
MOSAIC, with funding from the
Province of BC, has developed
training materials and is offering
workshops for staff at post-secondary
institutions to build their capacity to
respond effectively and appropriately
to international students’ disclosure of
sexual assault. Staff can register at no
cost for these free training sessions at
[email protected].
MOSAIC is an acronym
for
Multi-lingual
Orientation
Services Association for Immigrant
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
11
Communities.
With over 40 programs, MOSAIC
provides employment services, family
services, language instruction, legal
information, settlement services, and
victim and family violence services
from multiple sites in Metro Vancouver.
MOSAIC also operates the WorkBC
Centre for Vancouver Northeast
catchment area, as well as MOSAIC
Translations
and
Interpretations
Services.