1 Executive Summary
This study was designed to gather information from Chinese Canadian communities in Greater Victoria and Greater Vancouver to gain deeper insight into their experience when navigating serious legal problems. Twenty participants, all immigrants of Chinese descent, shared the following key points:
Barriers to Justice
- Lack of information (85%) and lack of time (58%) were top barriers to justice.
- Participants requested better access to translated information that goes beyond introductory pamphlets but also worried that important information is lost in translation.
- Half of the participants hesitated to ask for help and felt that cultural expectations within the Chinese community encouraged them to endure rather than seek help for a serious legal problem. This was especially so when experiencing discrimination and harassment.
- Gender and immigration status were intersectional factors that affected some participants ability to access justice.
- Participants worried that the Canadian justice system would not be responsive to them because it includes few representatives that had cultural proximity to them (such as having immigrant backgrounds, speaking with accented English, being of Chinese descent, or other such backgrounds).
Information finding strategies
- Online information (68%) and information obtained from family and friends (58%) were the top two sources of information participants sought, though this information was rated as only “somewhat helpful.”
- Government or legal services with online automated message systems and long timelines were perceived as being out of reach and often not a viable solution to a problem.
- Participants preferred off-line advice from multi-lingual legal experts and community workers with cultural proximity.
Legal recourse strategies
- Complex legal problems that involved family conflicts were more often resolved though the formal legal system (89%).
- Problems that were related to discrimination were not generally resolved through official legal channels.
Consequences of facing legal problems
- Facing a serious legal problem impacted participants’ lives and worsened health conditions, caused excessive stress, anxiety and depression and increased the need for health services (95%). Social consequences, such as the loss of a social network, were more often reported by women (92%).
- Maintaining agency and choice throughout the process is important and adds to someone’s feeling of dignity and value.
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