This Asian Heritage Month, we release our latest issue brief with heavy hearts, following the devastating tragedy that occurred on April 27, 2025, during the Lapu Lapu Festival Day in Vancouver, BC. What should have been a joyful celebration of Filipino heritage and resistance was tainted by a horrific attack that took the lives of 11 people and injured many more. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims, their families, and the entire Southeast Asian community affected that are grieving.

In the wake of this grief, we remain committed to honouring the lives, stories, and contributions of Southeast Asian women in Canada. Southeast Asia is a vast and diverse region encompassing Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This brief is just a starting point in exploring the complex realities faced by women from these communities shaped by histories of colonization, displacement, and resilience.

Through this work, we uplift the voices and experiences of Southeast Asian women as leaders, artists, caregivers, and advocates, and we honour their enduring strength. In this issue, you’ll find Grace’s powerful story of migration and resistance, alongside many others who continue to shape and sustain vibrant communities in Canada.

Throughout Canadian history, Black women have faced slavery, discrimination in healthcare, segregation in education, and workplace inequities. Despite these challenges, Black communities have continuously resisted oppression, advocating for justice, dignity, and equality through collective action. However, systemic white supremacy persists, reinforcing structural violence and gendered racism against Black women and girls.

This publication builds on the notable sacrifices and tireless fight for equality led by researchers, activists, and community leaders who have long advocated for social justice and equity. Their collective and unwavering dedication continues to drive the dismantling of systemic barriers and actively challenge the bias and discrimination faced by Black women.

The diverse identities within Latin American communities in Canada stem from a colonial history that erased their complexities and reinforced racial and gender inequalities—practices that persist today. This report offers a glimpse into the historical forces shaping Latina women’s experiences, encouraging reflection on how neoliberal policies both homogenize and divide communities, ultimately maintaining systems of control and inequality.

This work builds on the tireless efforts of researchers, activists, and community leaders who have long been advocating for justice and equity. Their contributions remain central to understanding and addressing the challenges faced by Latina women.

Designed to build organizational capacity, this guide draws on principles of anti-racist, anti-oppressive (ARAO), and trauma-informed practice (TIP) to create a supportive organizational framework for those working in the gender-based violence (GBV) sector and related fields.

This guide outlines how a holistic approach can best support the needs of racialized survivors of GBV.

Designed with service providers in mind, this guide draws on anti-racist, anti-oppressive (ARAO), and trauma-informed practice (TIP) principles to provide a framework to support those in the gender-based violence (GBV) and related sectors to create more inclusive support systems for diverse communities of survivors.

This resource highlights the need for ARAO practices that integrate a trauma-informed approach, detailing key principles such as recognizing social differences, understanding power dynamics, and incorporating decolonizing efforts. It highlights why trauma-informed care principles are crucial to addressing the holistic needs of Racialized survivors and considers how different forms of oppression and trauma can intersect. The guide also offers practical tools and reflective exercises for frontline professionals.

Indigenous, Black and Racialized women face unique, intersecting, and compounding forms of gender and racial discrimination that impact their employment opportunities and experiences in the workplace.

This brief provides an overview of the structural and individual dimensions of gender and racial discrimination and how this intersection impacts the opportunities and experiences of Indigenous, Black, and Racialized women in Canadian workplaces. Additionally, it spotlights the intersection of gender-based violence in the workplace.

While trauma-informed practices have become more widely used across social services, the recognition of intersecting trauma and the integration of anti-racism remains a gap within and across sectors. Trauma from gender-based violence, community violence, and racism are compounded, and discrimination and fear of discrimination can be a barrier to accessing services. 

This project will enhance the capacity of organizations to respond to the needs of racialized women survivors of gender-based violence who are experiencing racism and trauma, by offering culturally safe frontline services. The project will collaborate with stakeholders to incorporate principles of anti-racism and trauma-informed practice, thereby improving service delivery and access for racialized survivors.

Publications

Southeast Asian Women in Canada: Migration, Structural Racism, and Community

Black Herstories: Resisting Gendered Racism and Structural Violence

Latin Women in Canada: A Glimpse into Their History and Experiences

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Women and gender diverse people in the criminal justice system have high rates of violence and trauma in their lifetime. Trauma can be both a direct and indirect pathway into criminalized activities and is often reproduced and worsened by experiences in the justice system. The experience of trauma and criminalization can be compounded by other intersecting identities, including race. Racialized women and gender diverse people are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and are the fastest growing prison population in Canada.

This research explores the relationship between trauma and criminalization among racialized women and highlights the dangerous stigma they face as a result. It discusses how intimate partner violence can be a pathway into the criminal justice system for survivors, and how the judgment surrounding criminalization remains a barrier to fleeing violence and resolving trauma. The report also speaks to what is needed to improve access to services for racialized survivors with experiences of criminalization.

Intimate partner violence is closely connected to women’s economic security, including their income, employment, and housing. Research has shown that intimate partner violence both directly and indirectly impacts survivors’ ability to work and maintain employment. This can be compounded by other factors, including gender, race, and age. Racialized women face systemic barriers to economic equality and are more likely to be in precarious and low-income employment than non-racialized women.

This research report draws on qualitative data gathered through surveys and interviews with racialized survivors. The report explores the experiences of racialized survivors in accessing and maintaining employment. It discusses the impact that trauma from racism and intimate partner violence has on women’s employment and what is needed to better support racialized survivors to access and maintain meaningful employment.