Case Study
Migrant Women: Sharing Stories for Change
A digital storybook that offers the experiences and insights of 7 migrant women and provides a human-centred lens on migration – inviting us to see our interdependence and asking us to consider how we might address the inequities we see.
Project Details
Client: Migrant Workers Centre BC
Location: Across Canada
Who we were working with: Alliance for Gender Justice in Migration (the Alliance), 7 migrant women, graphic designer
What we were addressing
Migrant Women: Sharing Stories for Change was a project guided by the Alliance to provide a human lens on their advocacy work that aims to end the exploitation, abuse and suffering that women and gender-diverse migrants in Canada commonly experience. The intent of the storybook was to centre the voices of women and gender-diverse migrants in building awareness and influencing policy change around their experiences and the systems in Canada that they face.
How we were addressing it
Flow facilitators worked individually with women who had been referred through 4 organizations working across Canada to support and advocate for migrants. Through three private Zoom sessions, we took time and care to get to know each woman and did our best to establish and maintain trust and safety. The direction each conversation took was determined by what they wanted to share, and decision-making at every stage was led by the women. As facilitators, we felt honoured to be touched by the lives of these women who shared their hopes, their broken dreams, their determination and their moments of joy. We were reminded of our deep connection to each other.
In the first sessions, we learned about each other and explored the possibilities of the project. Time between sessions was important for storytellers to reflect on their journeys, the stories they wanted to tell, and how they could represent them virtually or creatively. In the second sessions, women shared unique stories of migration through photography, digital collages, and drawing. In the final sessions, the women had their stories reflected back to them and further refined their choices around how their art could support their stories. We then gave them an overview of the Alliance policy recommendations. They each chose which one they would like their story to be aligned with and provided comments on who they wanted to hear their story, and what they hoped others would understand.
Outcomes
Digital Storybook
Migrant Women: Stories for Change supports and links to the Alliance advocacy tools and recommendations and provides a human-centred lens - allowing us to see our interdependence and asking us to consider how we might address the inequities we see.
Seven Stories
The stories represent the experiences and insights of migrant women, highlighting their hopes and dreams when they came to Canada, their struggles, their disappointments, their courage, and their hard-won victories.
Strength-based Model
The storytellers expressed that the sessions helped them see their strengths and growth, feel proud, and consider how they might help or advocate for others.
A Storyteller's Invitation to Readers
