It starts with a phone call. A neighbour hears raised voices and dials 911 and within minutes, two police officers are standing in your living room. By the time they leave, someone in the house may already be under arrest. This is one of the most common, and least understood, legal situations facing South Asian families in Ontario, and almost everything about it works differently from what most of us grew up assuming.
A quick note before we go further: I'm not a lawyer, and this post
is not legal advice. It's a plain-language write-up of information for South Asian community here in Canada. I'm sharing this along
because I think every desi household in Ontario should hear it before
they ever need it. Everything below is specific to Ontario; other
provinces have their own rules. If you're dealing with a real
situation, please speak to an actual lawyer.
It stops being a "family matter" the moment police are called
Ontario police generally follow a pro-charge, zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence calls.
