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Purnima George

Purnima George

Associate Professor
EducationBA, MSW, PhD
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 557146
Areas of ExpertiseCritical community practice; Critical and dehegemonizing research epistemologies; Community-based research; Program evaluation; Family violence; South Asian communities; Racialized immigrant communities

Dr. Purnima George is an associate professor at the TMU’s School of Social Work. She brings her experience in community practice with a focus on grassroots organizing and activism. Before she immigrated to Canada, she was a faculty member, academic lead and coordinator of urban community initiatives at the College of Social Work, Mumbai, India.

In Toronto, she has channeled her passion for community practice and activism into community-based and program evaluation research on challenges experienced by racialized immigrant communities, such as food insecurity, older adult abuse, and old age security policy implications for older adults from the global South.

Based on the request of the South Asian communities in the GTA, Dr. George has focused her research on domestic violence in South Asian communities in the GTA. Her work in this area has expanded to interdisciplinary research on the impacts and legal implications of family violence for racialized immigrant women and children.

Dr. George received the Award for Racial Justice from the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, Toronto, in 2015 and the Sue Williams Excellence in Teaching Award in 2018.

  • SWP 538 Social Work Research: Part I
  • SWP 638 Social Work Research: Part II
  • SK8103 Advanced Research for Social Change
  • Major Research Paper

Refereed journal articles

  • George, P., Medhekar, A., Chaze, F., Osborne, B., van Heer, M. & Alavi, H. (2022). In Search of interdisciplinary, holistic and culturally Informed services: The case of racialized immigrant women experiencing domestic violence in Ontario. Family Court Review, 60(3), 530-545. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12653.
  • Woods, S., Gopal, T.N. & George, P. (2019). Responding to neoliberalism: The case of The Look at Life Project, Critical Social Work, 19(2).
  • Gopal, T.N., George, P. & Rabinowich, D. (2018). Moving beyond lived experience to taking action: Creating access to education for young people on remand in Toronto, Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 31(1), 26-38.
  • George, P. & Rashidi, M. (2014). Voices from the community: Barriers and recommendations for domestic violence services for South Asian women in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Canadian Social Work, 16, 69-86.
  • Preston, S., George, P. & Silver, S. (2014). Field education in social work: The need for re-imagining. Critical Social Work, 15(1).
  • George, P. & Rashidi, M. (2014). Domestic violence in South Asian communities in the GTA: Critical perspectives of community activists and service providers. CAOS: The Journal of Critical Anti-Oppressive Social Inquiry, 1, 67-86.
  • Woods, S., Gopal, T. & George, P. (2014). Look at my life: Access to education for the remand population in Ontario. Canadian Review of Social Policy, 70, 34-47. 
  • Wehbi, S., Parada, H., George, P. & Lessa, I. (2014). Going home (?): Social work across and about borders  (external link, opens in new window) . International Social Work.
  • George, P., Silver, S. & Preston, S. (2013). Reimagining field education in social Work: The promise unveiled. Advances in Social Work, 14(2), 642-657.
  • George, P. & George, J. (2013). Interrogating the neoliberal governmentality of the Old Age Security Act: The case of sponsored immigrant seniors. Canadian Social Work Review, 30(1), 65-82.
  • George, P. (2012). Taking a detour from a journey: A critical auto-ethnography on an incomplete term in academic administration (external link, opens in new window) . Critical Social Work, 13(2), 17-30.
  • El-Lahib, Y., George, P., Pon, G. & Wehbi, S. (2011). Challenging the myth of “studying harder”: A social work response to the oppression of ESL students. Canadian Social Work Review, 28(2), 209-224. 
  • George, P., Coleman, B. & Barnoff, L. (2010). Use of creativity in practicing structural social work in current times: Stories from the field (external link, opens in new window) . Critical Social Work, 11(2).

Encyclopedia entry

  • George, P., Syrja-McNally, D. (2015). Social Enquiry and Action Research for Social Work. In: James D. Wright (editor-in-chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd edition), Vol 22, pp. 269-274. Elsevier.

Invited expert paper

  • Medhekar, A., George, P., Chaze, F., & Osborne, B. (2020). Domestic violence in ethno-cultural communities: The potential impact on the identification and response to domestic violence by  family law lawyers. This expert paper has been prepared on request and submitted to the Family Violence Project, Department of Justice, Federal Government, Canada.

Books  

Refereed book chapters

  • Preston, S., Silver, S. & George, P. (2023). Teaching to the tensions: Pushing the boundaries of qualitative social work research. In D. Onishenko, C. J. N. Doran, R. A. Torres, & D. Nyaga (Eds.) Critical reflexive research methodologies: An interdisciplinary approaches, Brill Publishers Studies in Critical Social Sciences Collection.
  • George, P., Balakrishnan, G., Anand, V. Chaze, F. (2018). Grassroots community organizing in India: Emergent elements and strategies. In Community practices in India: Lessons from grassroots, Cambridge Scholars’ Publishing.
  • George, P. (2018). Moving beyond education to addressing injustice: Case of critical engagement of College of Social Work with eviction and deportation of pavement dwellers in Mumbai. In P. George, G. Balakrishnan, V. Anand & F. Chaze, Community practices in India: Lessons from grassroots. Cambridge Scholars’ Publishing.
  • George, P. (2017). Critical arts-based research: An effective strategy for knowledge mobilization and community activism. In H. Parada, & S. Wehbi,(Eds.). Re-imagining anti-oppression social work: Reflecting on research. Canadian Scholars’ Press.
  • Moffatt, K., Barnoff, L., George, P. & Coleman, B., (2017). Process as labour: Resistances to anti-oppression/anti-racist change in a feminist organization. In H. Parada, & S. Wehbi, (Eds.). Re-imagining anti-oppression social work: Reflecting on research. Canadian Scholars’ Press.
  • George, P. & Chaze, F. (2015). Challenging state’s authority and reclaiming citizenship: A case on action against eviction and deportation of pavement dwellers in Mumbai, India. In N. Yu and D. Mandell (Eds.). Subversive social action: Extra-legal and illegal action for social justice (pp. 99-116). Wilfred Laurier University Press.

Non-refereed publications

  • Schmitz, S., George, P. (2023). Breaking the silence: The untold journeys of racialized immigrant youth through family violence. Research dissemination event. CAMH, Toronto, ON. – French Webinar – Dec. 7, 2023.
  • George, P. Medhekar, A. Osborne, B. & Chaze, F. (2023). Breaking the silence: The untold journeys of racialized immigrant youth through family violence. Research dissemination event. CAMH, Toronto, ON. English Webinar– Dec. 6, 2023.
  • Medhekar, A., George, P. Osborne, B., & Chaze, F. (2023). Family violence: Voices of racialized immigrant youth and their best interest. Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Workshop – 19 Fall Virtual Conference, Family Violence and Mental Illness: Assessing and Managing Challenges to Contemporary Co-Parenting, Research dissemination event. Nov. 7, 2023. 
  • George, P., Medhekar, A., Osborne, B., & Chaze, F. (2023). Family violence experiences of racialized immigrant youth. Research dissemination event. Interviewed by New Canadian Media, Toronto, ON, September 7, 2023.
  • Medhekar, A., George, P., Chaze, F., & Osborne, B. (2023). Racialized youth and impact of domestic violence. Research dissemination event. Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI), Ministry of Children, Community & Social Services (MCCSS), London, ON, June 22, 2023.
  • Chaze, F. Medhekar, A., George, P., Osborne, B. (2023). Family violence in racialized/ immigrant communities. Research dissemination event. CCLA: 32nd Annual Institute of Family Law, Ottawa, April 22, 2023.
  • Osborne, B., Chaze, F., George, P., Medhekar, A., Sullivan, K. & Abdulrehman, I. (2020). A report on Undergraduate student participation in non-curricular research: Preliminary findings. 
  • Chaze, F., Osborne, B., Medhekar, A. & George, P. (2020). Domestic violence in immigrant communities: Breaking the cycle. Research dissemination event, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario.  
  • Chaze, F., Osborne, B., Medhekar, A. & George, P. (2020). Domestic violence in immigrant communities: Breaking the cycle. Research dissemination event, EDI Unit, Sheridan College, Oakville, Ontario.
  • George, P., Clarke, F., Kathirkamanathan, A., & Hunter, N. (2016). Realizing grass roots education through collective impact: A study on AVNU, Toronto.
  • George, P., Munawar, A., Akram-Pall, S., Patel, A., Wadhwan, K. & Atwal, T. (2015). Listen to the voices: Rexdale seniors evaluate services. A community participatory action research evaluation conducted by Rexdale Community Hub.
  • George, P. & Lee, B. (2013). Dominican Republic: YMC systematization report. A report on the work done by Youth Municipal Councils from 2007-12 in Dominican Republic.
  • Geroge, P., Munawar, A. & Atcha, Z. (2013). Food insecurity: Impacts and social costs. A community participatory action research project conducted by REH’MA Community Services, Toronto.
  • George, P., Munawar, A., Qazi, M. & Delarosa, E. (2010). From silence to resistance: Racialized immigrant seniors reclaiming space. A community action research conducted by REH’MA Community Services, Toronto.