Toronto, Ontario
East and Southeast Asian women addresses gender-based violence
Mildred German
With the long history of Asian communities being targeted, exoticised, being used as cheap labour, and labeled as the “model minority,” 2020 saw a nearly doubled increase in anti-Asian attacks and vandalism.
On March 4, 2021, activists, advocates and writers presented East and Southeast Asian perspectives on addressing gender-based violence in a panel organized by Ryerson University. Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam hosted the event online, “Not Your Exotic” East and Southeast Asian Women Addressing Gender-Based Violence.
Filipina-Canadian award-winning author, Catherine Hernandez was one of the panelists, along with Olivia Chow, Masia One,Hijin Park, and Kai Cheng Thom. Hernandez‘s first novel, Scarborough, won the Jim Wong-Chu Award for the unpublished manuscript; was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards, the Evergreen Forest of Reading Award, the Edmund White Award, and the Trillium Book Award; and was shortlisted for Canada Reads. A film adaptation of Scarborough is currently in post-production by Compy Films, with support from Telefilm Canada and Reel Asian Film Festival.
Practices that contribute to gender-based violence have been rampant amidst the pandemic. Increasing reports of domestic violence, human trafficking and child abuse globally occuring during the lockdown and isolation reflect a worsening crisis.