来自中国的Sue Lin（化名）在和一名加拿大公民结婚后于04年移民加拿大。移民后，她遭到丈夫的数次殴打以及虐待。Lin表示：“当我们发生性行为时，他会抓着我的头撞墙……他还会用刀子架在我的喉咙口对我施暴……”她的丈夫警告她说，她如果不听话，他就会联系移民官员。

Sue Lin (not her real name), a Chinese woman who immigrated to Canada in 2004 after marrying a Canadian citizen has been repeatedly beaten and physically brutalized by her husband. “My head was bashed against the wall while we had sex…He would put a knife to my throat and rape me…” said Lin. Her husband warned her that he would contact immigration if she did not obey his orders.

那些未取得移民身份的少数族裔女性极易遭其配偶虐待操控。被告知一旦夫妻关系破裂便会危及她们自身的移民身份，因此一些已经获得永久居民身份的女性，因害怕被遣返便忍受虐待，她们全然不知联络有关当局绝不会影响其申请移民身份。

Ethnic minority women, who have an uncertain immigration status, are particularly at risk of being manipulated by their husbands. Often told that leaving the relationship would put their immigration status at stake, some women who have obtained permanent residence status choose to put up with the abuse in fears that they will be deported, completely unaware of the fact that contacting authorities will absolutely not take their status away.

家庭法妇女教育项目（FLEW）的项目经理、曾为一法律咨询服务中心的家庭法律师的Lisa Cirillo表示：“但对那些持非法移民身份的女性来说，在同警方或者检察机构联络的过程中，移民局的确会注意到她们的非法移民身份……也的确有过因家庭暴力女性被上报移民局的案例。”

“However, women with illegal immigration status do come to the attention of the immigration authorities in the course of interaction with the police or through the crown… Women were reported to the immigration authorities in domestic abuse cases,” said Lisa Cirillo, a project manager of “Family Law Education for Women (FLEW)” who was formerly a family lawyer for a legal clinic.

Cirillo向《大中报》表示，语言障碍令那些被虐待的少数族裔女性在举报家庭暴力事件过程中难上加难。近期的一例案件中，一名不讲英语的女性在遭配偶虐待后联络警方。但颇为讽刺的是，其英语流利的配偶向警方指证该名女性对其施暴，而这名女性反遭警方指控……Cirillo表示：“在很多情况下，遭遇家庭暴力的少数族裔女性可能会同时经历刑事法庭、家庭法庭及移民听证等多项法律程序。”

Cirillo told Chinese News that the additional language barriers may make abused ethnic minority women even more vulnerable when reporting incidents of violence. In a recent incident, a non-English speaking woman contacted police after being physically abused by her husband. Ironically, she was charged after her English-fluent husband told the officer that it was her that physically abused him… “Quite often, ethnic minority women who are in an abusive relationship may find themselves dealing with criminal, family and immigration proceedings altogether,” said Cirillo.

Cirillo表示：“根据保护儿童的家庭暴力的零容忍政策，当家庭暴力涉及儿童，警方必须照会儿童救助协会（CAS）。即便该名妇女并未虐待儿童，其后果可导致儿童救助协会强行将儿童从母亲身边带走。”

“Under the policy of zero tolerance to domestic violence to protect children, the police are required to report to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) when children are involved. As a result, children may be moved from the woman even if she did not physically assault them,” said Cirillo.

受安省政府资助，并得到包括YMCA在内的七家女性团体赞助的FLEW项目旨在帮助那些在破裂的家庭关系中身处弱势，孤立地位的女性度过生活难关。

The FLEW project, funded by the Ontario Government and sponsored by seven women’s groups, including the YMCA, seeks to reach out to women, who are vulnerable and isolated in broken relationships, and to help them put their lives together.

Cirillo表示：“虽然FLEW项目提供的某些信息可能使一些女性感到前途迷茫，但如果她们不了解自己身处的境地及她们的决定即将带来的后果，则会使她们处境更为凄惨。”

“Although some of the FLEW information provided may be upsetting to women, unaware of what they would be facing and how the reality would react to their decisions may place them in a more vulnerable state,” said Cirillo.

来自香港的移民Maggie Ng向《大中报》表示，她曾有过两桩涉及家庭暴力的婚姻经历。离开被控对其精神虐待的第一任丈夫后，她经历过各种家庭法审理程序，刑事法庭及CAS的法庭听审程序。

Maggie Ng, an immigrant from Hong Kong, told Chinese News that as a victim of two abusive relationships, she went through various family court proceedings, criminal court hearings, as well as CAS hearings after leaving her first ex-husband, who allegedly abused her mentally.

Ng表示：“我在2000年的一个寒冷夜晚离家出走，完全不知道我下一步该怎么办……我在第一次来到法庭大楼时惊慌失措，因为那些要填的文件在我看来都差不多。”

“I left the home on a cold night in 2000, without any idea of what my next move would be…I became paranoid the first time in the courthouse, because the documents I was asked to fill out all looked similar to me,” said Ng.

在结束那段关系后，Ng表示她经历了无数场官司纠纷及面对数额惊人的律师费，而即使在离婚案件终结之后，她的前夫仍不断对其骚扰。

Breaking up the relationship, Ng said she found herself going through countless court battles and dealing with astonishing legal bills, and that her ex was continuously harassing her even after the divorce case was finalized.

Cirillo表示：“如今司法界越来越倾向于避免动用法律程序，而寻找其他方法解决纠纷。因法律程序可能会令离婚双方更为敌对，使案件开销也更为昂贵。但FLEW项目提供的信息也告诉女性，调解程序只能适用于某些案件。”

“The legal community is increasingly in favour of using alternative resolutions to resolve disputes, rather than going through the court system that might make the divorce increasingly acrimonious and the case more expensive. But FLEW also informs women that mediation should be used under appropriate circumstances,” said Cirillo.

Ng表示，结束的第一段婚姻使她感到困惑、不知所措。而她的第二任丈夫也具有虐待倾向，但却呈现于完全不同的方式——他嫉妒心极强，企图占有她的物品和财产。

Feeling confused and bewildered after her first relationship broke up, Ng discovered that her second husband was also abusive but in a completely different way -- he was extremely jealous and had an inordinate desire for gaining her belongings and properties.

Ng说，第二任丈夫对她的虐待最终卷入儿童救助协会，并将其前夫带上刑事法庭。其中的精神压力使她在五个月内发生两起严重车祸。

The physical assaults from her second-ex eventually brought in CAS and brought him to criminal court. The mental stress led her to two serious car accidents within five months, according to Ng.

Ng目前开始了第三段婚姻，她表示这段婚姻是非常健康愉悦的，夫妻双方互相尊重，共同处理各项事物过程中培养了良好的感情。

Ng’s third marriage is a healthy and happy one, where they respect each other, and deal with issues together, building their relationship through team work.

Ng说：“在八年的漫长岁月中，两段遭虐待的婚姻让我学到很多……我开始认识到自己不愿遭到精神虐待，意识到所期望的生活是什么。但这一学习的过程非常痛苦，我并为此付出很大代价。”

“In an eight-year period, the tough reality of two abusive relationships have taught me a lot…I’ve come to understand that I don’t want to be emotionally put down in a relationship, realizing what I expect in my life, though I learned it in a very hard way and paid a heavy price,” said Ng.

Ng希望通过FLEW项目，她的经历能使其他遭受虐待的女性看到希望，使她们勇于面对现实，而不向暴力低头。

Ng hopes that, through the FLEW project, her experience will provide other abused women with hope, so that they will not hide issues from themselves and, instead, stand up to abuses.

女性在解决同配偶的关系的同时，FLEW提供的信息能帮助她们在联络相关机构、寻求司法帮助、处理移民身份、以及孩子抚养权等诸多问题上做出慎重的决定。

With the FLEW information, women could make educated decisions on contacting authorities, seeking legal support, dealing with their immigration status as well as custody rights, while sorting out their relationship with their spouse.

Cirillo表示：“这一项目并非旨在替女性们做出选择，或为她们提供法律咨询。该项目的目的是她们提供有用的信息，这些信息由简单易懂的语言编写，并被翻译成多种少数族裔语言。据此，女性们可为她们自己及其孩子明智选择。”

“The project does not intend to make choices for women or offer them any legal advice, but provide them with useful information, which was written in plain language and also translated into different minority languages, so that women can make more informed choices for themselves and their children,” said Cirillo.

如想了解更多有关FLEW项目的信息，可登陆网站www.onefamilylaw.ca。

For more information about FLEW project, please visit FLEW website at www.onefamilylaw.ca.

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