Register now for the next Barbra Schlifer Clinic, Outburst! Program Webinar on: Understanding Forced Marriage in North America
When: January 23rd 2014 from 1:00 pm – 3:00pm EST.
Forced marriage occurs when one or both of the parties are married without their consent or against their will. It is a form of family violence that can impact communities in Canada and the United States, presenting unique challenges for social service providers, lawyers and communities. This panel discussion, featuring experts from the United States and Canada, will provide attendees with an overview of the nature and scope of forced marriage in both countries, as well as discuss comparative challenges to providing support for individuals at risk. This webinar will feature presenter Deepa Mattoo of the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO), Canada and Heather Heiman of the Tahirih Justice Center, United States. The two agencies have each conducted groundbreaking research projects on forced marriage in Ontario, Canada and the United States.
Please click here to register for the webinar – space is limited, so sign up soon. Webinar login information will be emailed out after you sign up. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Outburst! Coordinator Farrah Khan directly at 416-323-9149 ext 243 or
This event is part of a series of quarterly webinars on “honour” related violence/forced marriage violence hosted by the Barbra Schlifer Clinic’s Outburst! Young Muslim Women Program.
Presenter Bios:
Deepa Mattoo is a Staff Lawyer and currently Acting Executive Director with SALCO. SALCO is a not-for-profit legal aid clinic that was first established in 1999. In September 2007, SALCO was given permanent legal clinic status by Legal Aid Ontario. SALCO’s mandate is to provide access to justice for low-income South Asians in the Greater Toronto area. They chair the Network of Agencies Against Forced Marriages, and deliver public legal education and community development initiatives on the issue of forced marriage. Their recent survey on forced marriage entitled, Who, If, When to Marry: The Incidence Of Forced Marriage In Ontario successfully brought attention and awareness of the issue into the public sphere through the participation of various key stakeholders. Deepa holds a M.B.A. with a specialization in corporate social responsibility from Leeds Metropolitan University, UK. She has over 14 years of experience in providing legal services, public education, advocacy and not-for-profit governance. Deepa has been involved with various issues related to domestic violence globally and has been a leading voice on the issue of forced marriage in Canada.
Heather Heiman is an attorney specializing in public policy advocacy and forced marriage issues at the Tahirih Justice Center a national non-profit organization that supports courageous immigrant women and girls who refuse to be victims of violence. Heather works on all aspects of Tahirih’s policy campaigns, which strive to improve legal protections and access to services for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, forced marriage, and other forms of gender-based violence. As manager of Tahirih’s groundbreaking Forced Marriage Initiative, Heather provides direct legal services to individuals facing forced marriage, fields technical assistance requests nationally, and coordinates the National Network to Prevent Forced Marriage/Forced Marriage Working Group. Heather was the principal drafter and analyst of a 2011 national survey on forced marriage in immigrant communities in the United States, and engages in extensive national outreach and training on this issue. Heather is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law, where she was conferred a Juris Doctor degree and Certificate in International and Comparative Law.
The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic (the Clinic) provides legal representation, professional counselling and multilingual interpretation to 5000 women each year. Outburst! Young Muslim Women Program is an award winning program of the Clinic for young Muslim young women breaking silence and speaking out about violence including forced marriage and ‘honour’ related violence. The Clinic recognizes that survivors are central to the elimination of violence in their lives and Outburst! is guided by young Muslim women’s lived experience. Outburst is an opportunity for them to determine the ways they define and access safety. The program works to increase the leadership capacity of young Muslim women to shape solutions to the forms of violence they experience through programming, training, counseling and research. In 2014, Outburst! is launching a provincial wide training in collaboration with SALCO on Forced Marriage and ‘Honour’ Related Violence, which includes risk assessment & safety planning tools. Outburst! is the 2013 recipient of the Canadian Women’s Foundation Michelle Landsberg Award and the ArtReach Pitch Contest Award for their community and programming initiatives.
Outburst! Young Muslim Women’s Project is graciously funded by ArtReach Toronto, Canadian Women’s Foundation, Laidlaw Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, The Ontario Women’s Directorate