Civic participation means finding a way to contribute to the community you reside in – it can include political engagement (voting, being engaged in the electoral process) but it goes beyond that as well. Community residents’ engagement can be very strong, and would be a very powerful tool in challenging and addressing violence against immigrant and refugee women!
Civic participation can mean:
- Volunteering at a health organization, including encouraging that organization to adopt a policy to see and support immigrant and refugee women regardless of immigration status
- Participating in neighbourhood advocacy, as it relates to violence against immigrant and refugee women – e.g. safety audit of a neighbourhood, or a complex.
- Being engaged in the political process for upcoming municipal, provincial or federal elections, and bringing up issues that impact immigrant and refugee women – such as policies, funding for services, the legal aid system, etc.