My name is Umair Ashfaq. I am a Registered Nurse (RN) at the local hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia. I am a proud graduate of the Cape Breton University (CBU). When I was doing my degree at CBU, I came across the opportunity to contribute to the CAPSAP program. It was an incredible opportunity for me and was very much related to my work field.
As a nurse, we must be aware of sexual violence and must practice trauma-informed care. Moreover, we are on the frontlines dealing with the victims when they first present themselves. In addition to providing support and care, we are the ones who also provide emotional support.
Since, my cultural background is different, I wanted to explore and express the viewpoint from my culture on sexual assault and violence. The cultural group I facilitated was from the Northern India. My role during the study was to conduct a focus group discussion, where the participations were asked several questions related to sexual violence, consent, and sexual assault. Their role was to answer those questions within their cultural context and then the participants debated different scenarios. All the discussion session was taped and recorded and was later transcribed.