For the last couple of days, I have been working at a conference that deals with violence against women and children’s aid. It is incredible that in today’s society, people still have blinders on and are unable to see how prevalent this issue is in our society. The conference touched on Violence Against Native Women (very important in Canadian society), Intimate Partner Violence, restraining orders, child custody, etc. Overall, I am finding it very difficult to hear the horror stories, but as an interpreter, you can’t just stop working, you have to follow through. This is a tough topic to interpret, not so much due to the complexe terminology, but rather due to the emotions that such a topic brings out. The most atrocious thing that I heard today is that violence against women is being treated like an endemic, which means that it is serious, but will eventually pass. I think that this is a big mistake, as it will not disappear until it is dealt with correctly. In September 2007, the Harper federal government eliminated funding to the National Association of Women and the Law, which struggles to end various types of female victimization. In other words, violence against women will continue to exist in this country as long as there continues to be federal budget cuts in this field.
