The Women's Program
PSAC statement on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women
December 6, 2008
Each year the Public Service Alliance of Canada remembers and mourns the 14 young women who were killed on December 6, 1989 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. We rededicate ourselves every year to end violence against women.
It is estimated that at least one in every four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime and that in the last five years alone, more than half a million women in Quebec and the rest of Canada (approximately 654,000 women) will have been abused by their common law partner or their husband.
Sexual assault remains a crime that is committed with impunity, since less than 10 per cent of all cases are reported to the police. First Nations, Inuit and Métis women experience exceptionally high levels of violence. Crushing poverty, a lack of affordable housing, and the legacy of colonialism makes them even more vulnerable to abuse and sexual exploitation.
According to the Sisters in Spirit campaign, more than 500 Aboriginal women are currently missing or have been murdered. Despite sustained mobilization and public pressure, law enforcement agencies still seem to place a low priority on finding missing Aboriginal women. Indeed, charges have been laid in only 42 per cent of the cases, and 56 per cent remain unsolved.
Equality combats violence
The “law and order” agenda promoted by the Harper government – with mandatory penalties and longer sentences – is not the solution to violence against women. Yes, we need effective enforcement of criminal laws, and adequate protection of women by the police and the courts. But we also need economic equality and social policies that will achieve women's security and autonomy. We need social housing, pay equity, fair pensions and legal aid for family law. First Nations women need more than apologies: their rights and their Indian status must be respected now!
Women fleeing from violence should receive safe haven in Canada and not be deported to countries that will not protect them from their abusers. Sexual and racial harassment in the workplace and in the community must be stopped, and all women must be free from workplace violence.
Women need real support, not measures that will chip away at rights like reproductive choice. Funding must be restored to organizations that advocate for and defend women's rights. We need our governments to act together to develop, implement and fund a national prevention strategy that will meaningfully address violence against women in this country.
What we can do?
On December 6, PSAC members will remember and mourn the death of the 14 young women, but we must also organize and mobilize against all forms of violence against women. There are many things that we can do:
-
We can join the CLC's Violence Against Women is a Workplace Hazard Campaign, and lobby to change occupational health and safety laws and mandate employers to take concrete steps aimed at violence prevention. (www.canadianlabour.ca)
-
We can participate in the YWCA Canada Rose Button Campaign, a national advocacy campaign to end violence against women and girls. (www.ywcacanada.ca)
-
We can renew our support to the Sisters in Spirit campaign (www.nwac-hq.org).
-
We can lobby our MPs for to enact policies that promote women's equality and stop violence against women. Contact your MP today and demand funding for women's shelters, rape crisis centres and feminist advocacy organizations.
-
We can join the thousands of trade unionists participating in Public Services International's Say No to Violence Against Women campaign (www.world-psi.org).
It is important to remind Members of Parliament that the time for action against violence against women is now!
Home Site Map Contact Us Bargaining Search Join Our Union Français
Date Modified : 2008/12/04
Public Service Alliance of Canada | 233, Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ONTARIO CANADA, K2P 0P1, Tel.: 1 888 604-7722 (PSAC)