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CFUW Cranbrook busy with projects in B.C., Canada and worldwide
The Cranbrook Club of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is continuing their mission on educating themselves and their surrounding communities on various issues in our society.
As has been in the news for the last week, the BC Liberals have finally hired much-needed Nurse Practitioners through B.C., including the East Kootenay. BC Council of the CFUW, to which the Cranbrook Club belongs and is involved with, was part of the pressure put on the government to hire these much-needed nurses.
At our provincial CFUW BC Council AGM in April 2012, a resolution was passed which asks for a language change in the first step in educating the public, policy makers and agency staff that the use of the term “child pornography” does not reflect the current reality. The CFUW position is that images of this nature are representations of the crime of child sexual abuse, and our view is that “child pornography” should be replaced with the term “images of child sexual abuse.” Further, referring to words that accurately resonate with its gravity and impact, that is, “images of child sexual abuse,” is important. There is data that indicates that the crimes of child exploitation occur in all communities, and that the Internet is the primary distributor of its evidence.
We recommend this small but meaningful change as a significant step forward in educating the people in B.C. about this matter. Letters from all B.C. CFUW clubs have gone to police detachments to make them aware of our policy and rationale in hopes they will review it and consider supporting it when our Abbotsford Club presents a motion to endorse our policy at the upcoming Association of Chiefs of Police on February 21.
CFUW BC Council represents 2,000 women graduates, associates and students members in 23 clubs in BC. We place our education and training at the service of our communities, take an interest and participate in public affairs, advocate for human rights and improvements to the status of women and girls.
On that note, we encourage everyone to join One Billion Rising to End Violence Against Women on Thursday, February 14. A new twist to Valentine’s Day will see men and women around the world standing up, dancing and singing to say “NO!” to gender-based violence. Check it out at www.onebillionrising.org for information about events and other resources.
The CFUW Cranbrook Club encourages women to take action. There is a ‘take Action Section’ linked to our website at www.cfuw-cranbrook.com which highlights federal legislation CFUW is tracking, ongoing and upcoming campaigns (like One Billion Rising) organized by a variety of organizations, and important international days, among other opportunities.
Our clubs also raise a significant amount of money for scholarships and bursaries and other charitable causes. The Cranbrook CFUW Club is adding to their annual scholarships to the College of the Rockies this year and will make an announcement soon as to how much and what program we are helping out.
We are part of the Canadian Federation of University Women founded in 1919 that has about 900 members in clubs in every province.
Lead image in part from: dreamcatchersforabusedchildren.com
– Submitted