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To end violence against women, Canada needs a plan
This December 6 marks 25 years since 14 young women were senselessly murdered at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. Since then, Canada has marked the date annually as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.
Over the last several weeks, Canadians have been reminded again and again that violence against women and sexual harassment are still persistent problems in this country. Even Parliament Hill and our public broadcasters’ offices are not immune.
These high profile cases have helped shine a light on the complexities of gender-based violence and have sparked important discussions. But discussions must also lead to action. On any given day in Canada, over 8,200 women and children are living in emergency shelters and transition houses to escape violent partners. Annually over 400,000 women and girls report sexual assaults, yet an approximate 90% of assaults go unreported. Nearly 1,200 Aboriginal women and girls have been murdered or gone missing over the last 30 years. We cannot let this continue to happen.
As we reflect on the events on December 6, 1989 across Canada, we must ask ourselves why our current criminal laws, labour codes, and programs have proven inadequate to eradicate this problem.
Last year the Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters & Transition Houses did just that – they released a report analyzing current government policies and programs focused on violence against women. The results were not all that surprising; on a whole Canada is lacking coherence and coordination between the federal and provincial/territorial levels.
As with any complex social issue, we might expect our governments to ensure they are addressing the root causes, conducting ongoing research, evaluating existing measures, and facilitating coordination between all relevant stakeholders. All of this takes planning, both in the short and the long term.
CFUW Cranbrook Club has been diligent in sending letters to their MLAs, MPs and our Prime Minister asking them to address the issues of Violence Against Women all across Canada and support local efforts to stop violence in our East Kootenay community.
So why is it that with such a widespread problem like gender-based violence, that affects one in three women, Canada has no comprehensive plan or strategy?
With Canada less than a year away from a fixed federal election date, this is certainly a question we should be asking politicians.
The public discussions we’re having right now are building — perhaps to a tipping point where real societal change will occur — but we simply can’t afford to let the conversation lapse. We need politicians to join the discussion and make changes.
That’s exactly what a new campaign, led by an alliance of more than 100 women’s organizations and allies, hopes to accomplish. The campaign, dubbed ‘Up for Debate,’ wants to make sure women figure prominently in how we make the decision about the future of our country. It challenges political party leaders to participate in a televised leaders’ debate on women’s issues once the election is called, the first in 30 years, and more broadly urges politicians to commit to make meaningful commitments to make women’s lives better.
Twenty-five years have passed since Canada was shaken by the École Polytechnique tragedy. Isn’t it time we got serious about ending violence against women?
If you are a woman in the Cranbrook area who wishes to join CFUW Cranbrook Club, please go to our website at www.cfuw-cranbrook.com. We also welcome anyone interested in knowing who we are and what we do, to visit our website.
The Cranbrook Club has 12 members locally and is a member of CFUW National, a non-political, voluntary, self-funded, bilingual and non-governmental organization of women university graduates in 110 clubs across Canada that works to improve the status of women and girls, education, peace, justice and human rights. CFUW holds special consultative status at the United Nations (ECOSOC) and belongs to the Sectoral Committee of education of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. CFUW is the largest of 61 national affiliates of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW).
CFUW Cranbrook Club
