Launching of the State of Economic Abuse in Canada

Paths to Empowerment: Launching of “The State of Economic Abuse in Canada Report”

Date: Wednesday, October 18 2023
Time: 2:00 – 3:00pm EST

This event was an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion by subject matter experts. The event presented an opportunity for attendees to discover key insights from the report, including notable global trends, as we work together to build a safer and more equitable society for everyone.

The state of Economic Abuse Report: represents the road we have traveled so far, the community recommendations we have gathered, and the direction we firmly believe we need to be headed. The report provides an overview of the background on Economic Abuse across the globe, with special focus on Canada and our progress to date, yet underscored by an understanding that this momentum must be maintained to continue achieving positive change. The event provided an in-depth analysis of challenges both survivors and service providers experience, as well as action items aimed at ending the practice of Economic Abuse in the context of family violence within Canada.

Event Details:
This virtual event took place on, Wednesday, October 18th, from 2:00-3:00 pm EST. Attendees had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Economic Abuse, explored support systems for survivors, and strategized on increasing capacity across sectors for a secure and empowering environment.

Panelists’ Profiles

Dr. Natalie M. Snow

Dr. Natalie M. Snow holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a member of the Canadian Sociological Association, American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Her research interests include policy processes, sexual violence, victimology and the legal response to female victimization and offending, as well as community based research and evaluation. Dr. Snow’s dissertation explored the online framing of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women social movement. Dr. Snow teaches full-time at Humber College in the Bachelor of Social Sciences- Criminal Justice.

Angela Marie MacDougall

Battered Women’s Support Services

Through her community-based organizing, frontline work, curricula development, training, and activism over three decades, Angela has been deeply involved in movements for gender, racial and social justice. Angela’s impact includes the development of empowerment and advocacy-based program and service delivery models that address gender-based violence and violence against women that are grounded in strong theoretical frameworks that include intersectional feminist trauma and violence-informed analysis. She has organized around law reform and community-based research toward building lasting social change. She is co-writer of Freedom from Violence: Tools for Working with Trauma, Mental Health and Substance Use, Empowering Non-Status, Refugee, and Immigrant Women Who Experience Violence, Implementation of a National Action Plan on GBV and VAW: Supports for Survivors and their Families, Colour of Violence: Gender, Race and Anti-Violence Services and blogs at bwss.org/endingviolence. Angela is an expert panelist at Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, a founding member of Feminists Deliver, a long-standing member of Vancouver’s February 14th Women’s Memorial March and is a founding member of Intersectional Feminist Justice Research and Organizing Collaborative. Angela was named a Remarkable Woman by the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Magazine named her one of Vancouver’s most powerful people. Angela is currently the executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services.

Dr. Amanda Parriag

Dr. Amanda Parriag, originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now residing in Ottawa, brings a unique perspective to her work in gender equity and community development. Growing up, she witnessed gender inequities deeply embedded in the culture of her Global South homeland. Amanda’s parents, dedicated community builders, instilled in her the importance of community-based approaches to uplift women and families from poverty, empower them through education, and challenge societal norms.

Amanda’s feminist lens, shaped by her lived experiences, informs her expertise in evaluation, research, and measurement. She firmly believes adopting a feminist, trauma-informed, and decolonial perspective is essential for anti-racist work, particularly in the Global South. By dismantling oppressive structures and systems, Amanda aims to bring about meaningful change for women and female-identifying individuals.

Her extensive career has focused on working with equity-deserving communities in Canada, including Indigenous, Black, and other racialized groups. Recognizing her limitations in cultural competence, Amanda actively collaborates with communities, building their capacity to be equal partners in her work. This approach ensures that research outcomes are not only meaningful but also capable of driving real change within communities.

With a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology, Amanda possesses a wealth of experience in quantitative and qualitative research, program evaluation, project management, communication, literature reviews, data analysis, and visualization. She has conducted numerous interviews, focus groups, environmental scans, and literature reviews in various settings. Amanda is a skilled project manager and interviewer, boasting a rich history of successful collaboration with the public and private sectors.

In summary, Dr. Amanda Parriag’s journey from Trinidad and Tobago to Ottawa has shaped her commitment to using a community-based, feminist, and anti-racist lens in her work. Her extensive expertise in research, evaluation, and project management, coupled with her dedication to empowering marginalized communities, positions her as a valuable agent of

Dr Sarah Tarshis

Sarah Tarshis is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at McGill University
in the area of practice with individuals, families, and groups. Her research builds on over ten years of social work experience as a front-line social worker, supervisor, program director, clinical consultant, and clinician in Montreal, Toronto, and New York. Sarah is experienced in working with survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and supporting those who have experienced trauma. She is particularly interested in the impact of economic abuse on survivors of IPV from vulnerable groups, including those who have experienced interpersonal violence and structural violence.

Meseret Haileyesus

Meseret Haileyesus is a multi-award-winning thought leader and change-maker with a distinguished record in championing economic justice and health equity. For the past 22 years, she has dedicated her life to advancing progressive policies on access to reproductive health, women’s and children’s health, public health research, and women’s economic rights. As the visionary founder of the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment (CCFWE), she has been unflagging in her efforts to address economic disparities and dismantle systemic barriers that hinder marginalized women’s economic advancement. Through pioneering policy advocacy, groundbreaking research, educational initiatives, and programs preventing Economic abuse, Meseret is at the forefront of this critical work.

Her primary mission is to shape public policy and legislative decisions that empower women to achieve economic independence in Canada. Meseret is dedicated to bridging gaps in existing approaches to combat economic abuse. Her commitment to societal improvement extends beyond CCFWE. Meseret serves on the Board of Directors at Centertown Community Health Centre and the End FGM Canada Network. She is also a member of the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities Public Policy Advisory Council and the Governance Committee for the City of Ottawa’s Community Safety Wellbeing Plan, aimed at addressing poverty, systemic racism, and mental health challenges faced by Black youth and their families in Canada.