Manmeet Bhullar, Indian origin human services minister of the Canadian province of Alberta, has announced a CAD100,000 (nearly $90,000) grant to help sexually abused Indo-Canadian children in the city of Calgary.
The money will be used by the Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse to remove barriers for members of the Indo-Canadian community seeking help, specifically around language and culture, along with improving awareness and increase prevention, the Calgary Sun reported Thursday.
"In my readings, there are some studies out of India that show 54 percent of children in India are sexually abused... and that concerns me incredibly because if that's what it shows in a government study, then who knows what the real numbers would be," Bhullar was quoted as saying.
"Trying to talk about this is the biggest difficulty," Arvinder Sumal, a director at the Canadian Sikh Network, said.
"It doesn't matter if it's an Indo-Canadian community or another type of community, when you're a minority every minute, negative item is amplified," Sumal said.
Bhullar said members of the Indo-Canadian community may find it difficult to come forward.
"I can tell you there's a great amount of discomfort and resistance to having these very dialogues," he added.
Danielle Aubry, executive director of the Christian Cultural Association of South Asians, said one in three girls and one in six boys in Canada are sexually abused by the time they turn 18.