Let me be clear, first and foremost the topic of discussion should be on the women who have endured the brutality of these crimes. The main goal is to find the perpetrators of these crimes and for them to be punished swiftly, harshly and to prevent further attacks in the future. To bring this discussion in full circle, in reference to the perpetrators who have been identified as asylum seekers. The simple fact is we cannot ignore that in part these attacks included other factors such as ethnicity, class, and culture in addition to gender. For the most part I think we need to not shy away from the difference between the eastern and western cultural expectations for women. I am in no way saying or insinuating these acts were justified based on culture. What I am saying is that the expectation for women in many eastern cultures typically includes chastity, purity and modesty etc. Do I think these men sexually assaulted these women simply due to their cultural upbringing - no I don’t, but it did play a part. In Canada, we have seen many brutal crimes against Indian women, honor killings, domestic abuse and murder. Let us not forget Navreet Waraich who was stabbed to death by her husband, Amanpreet Bahia who was also stabbed to death by her husband, or the death of Manjit Panghali and her unborn child at the hands of her husband. We have also seen many brutal crimes against First Nations women. Let us not forget the 1200 missing and murdered First Nations women that the United Nations has called Canada out to solve.
We have also seen brutal crimes against Caucasian women. Let us not forget the countless victims of serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla Homolka. These are just a few of the many cases that have occurred over the years in Canada. However, let us also not forget in light of the Cologne attacks, that violence against women is not only perpetrated by Muslim men, because it is not. However, the east versus west cultural factor is absolutely and undeniably an issue that needs to be addressed. The truth is I wish it was simple to say “that causes sexual violence” or “those are the perpetrators of violence against women,” it would be much easier to solve. But I know and I know most of you know that violence against women exists in all of our communities, whether we want to openly say it or not. I am not ashamed to admit in my community the disparity between men and women exists, because if we do not acknowledge it, then we cannot fix it. In the Cologne attacks, the solution does not lay in stopping refugees from coming into safe countries because not all male refugees are rapists. The solution is in integration and education. The refugees that are coming into Canada are being carefully vetted and going through extensive procedures and the government has taken added caution by only allowing men who are accompanied with families to enter Canada - meaning no single males are being allowed entrance.
But that doesn’t mean that they are all going to be the perfect and forever grateful citizen that we expect them to be, because they are human. In the words of British journalist and author of India Dishonoured Sunny Hundal “In light of the Cologne attacks we need to face the facts – not all refugees are saints.” Sunny Hundal also discusses the inclusion of ‘integration policies’ which includes different methods of integration such as education, language, and anything that will help the asylum seekers to understand the country they will be living in. In Norway, there is the inclusion of an education program within the asylum centers. Nina Machibya of Norway runs a course that helps immigrant men to understand the norms and behaviors of Scandinavian women and to help them adapt to their new culture. The Cologne attacks revealed an ugly truth: sexual violence is a horrendous and barbaric act that continues to take a second seat to politics.
The simple truth is irrespective of race, religion, gender, class or culture, violence is violence, and each state has a responsibility to uphold the rights of their citizens. The men who have been convicted of these assaults need to be punished swiftly and harshly and deported back to their respective country. But we must maintain a united stand against any types of violence against all women, regardless of who is committing the crime.
SUNNY MANGAT, M.A. (International Politics & Human Rights), B.A. (Psychology) , a Vancouver Islander who was raised in Surrey,is a full-time PhD student at Roehampton University in London, U.K., researching sexual violence in India.
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