This text is part of the special Research section
She is a specialist in domestic violence intervention with immigrant women and is interested in the integration of immigrants in the region. Through its collaborative approach and its involvement in the field, Sastal Castro-Zavala intends to bring research as close as possible to practice environments.
The matter was the subject of an investigation by Duty end of January: immigrant women are over-represented in shelters where their status becomes precarious. A phenomenon on the rise in Quebec and in the face of which stakeholders lack resources.
Sastal Castro-Zavala, professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Work at the University of Quebec at Rimouski (UQAR), knows this problem well. She devoted her thesis to it and several years of support in a shelter after arriving from Mexico in 2009. “I wanted to return to Mexico to do my research, but I got stuck here with an organization that worked with immigrant women victims of domestic violence. » The researcher therefore worked as a social worker for around ten years, alongside her doctorate.
An intersectional perspective
In addition to intervention practices in domestic violence, Sastal Castro-Zavala, who is a member of the Participatory Research Collective on Poverty in Rural Areas, is interested in the conditions of integration of immigrants, particularly in the regions. Two areas of research that she approaches from an intersectional perspective. “It’s about understanding how certain contexts can favor certain profiles of people or harm them. »
Based on the work of sociologist Patricia Hill Collins, the professor conducts her research taking into account different forms of discrimination that people can face simultaneously. Whether at the level of laws, administrative management, cultural perceptions or the relationships that these people have with their community. “When I do research, I try to think about these four dimensions. And what plays [sous leur influence] in intervention practices. »
In this regard, the researcher underlines the importance of training stakeholders in the challenges faced by immigrants. So that they take into account, for example, the structural elements that motivate the decisions of these people. “Some women will not leave a violent partner, not for a cultural or religious question, but because if they do not have migratory status, they put themselves at risk of finding themselves without income, without housing, without access to services . They can also stay to protect their children, they are caught in this context. »
The research that Sastal Castro-Zavala is currently conducting in the Chaudière-Appalaches region with newcomers also highlights several levels of obstacles to their integration, particularly when they are settled outside urban centers.
Certain services, such as francization systems, are for example not available everywhere and are all the more difficult to access as public transport is less developed in rural areas.
The professor also points out that many immigrants with temporary status find themselves in a situation of dependence on their employer, which sometimes leads to experiences of isolation or abuse. “The country of origin, the language, the region of settlement, the migratory status… All these factors will play a role in the integration of people. » Also being a woman.
Participatory and collaborative research
Beyond his knowledge of the field, Sastal Castro-Zavala relies on close collaboration with community organizations and consultation tables to support his work. A way to ensure that the needs of the community are met. “It’s practice that got me where I am […] and I like to think that research serves to nourish it. »
The researcher intends to continue this participatory work at all costs, even if this has consequences on the research time. “Working with people who are in the field requires more time and involvement. They don’t have the same resources as us at university. The challenge is to work together while ensuring that we respect the rhythm and the needs of the community. »
Through experiences and encounters, she also became part of a multidisciplinary network of researchers. Connections that lead her both to support the work of her sisters and to benefit from their support for her research. “It’s not a job that can be done alone. I have the chance to collaborate with researchers who have many years of experience as well as with several organizations, it is a real collective work,” underlines the one whose collaborations are deployed at the local and provincial level.
The rest of his journey remains open, confides Sastal Castro-Zavala who says he must identify his research priorities given the scale of the intervention needs. In the meantime, she is delighted with funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada which allows her team to study the reality of immigrant mothers who are victims of domestic violence so that services respond better.
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