Violence Against Women
On October 19, 2016 I attended the Katherine Wright lecture series at the Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Centre. The presenter that evening was Stephen Lewis and his topic was “A conversation about health, social justice and equality.” Mr. Lewis covered a range of topics, but one statement that he made is particularly relevant to the Minute for Affirm this morning. Stephen Lewis noted that nothing is more important in this world than the struggle for gender equality. Gender equality – there are many aspects to that topic and at first I wondered which of the topics to pursue – equal rights, poverty, violence, highly sexualized media images of females, educational opportunities, equal pay for equal work, income levels, lack of affordable childcare, gender equality vs gender equity – the list of possibilities is long. However, this Tuesday, December 6, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women. Therefore, I am going to highlight violence against women.
Quoting from the Government of Canada, Status of Women Canada web page (http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/commemoration/vaw-vff/remembrance-commemoration-en.html), “December 6 represents an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society. It is also an opportunity to consider the women and girls for whom violence is a daily reality, and to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based violence. And finally, it is a day on which communities can consider concrete actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
November and December are important months for raising awareness of gender-based violence in Canada and around the world. In addition to the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women takes place on November 25 and marks the first day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, which ends on December 10, with International Human Rights Day. Gender-based violence is not just a women’s issue — it’s everyone’s issue and we all have an important role to play in addressing it. Looking the other way is not an option.
Together, our individual actions will help build a society that is respectful towards women, encourages victims to speak out and supports survivors as they heal.” (end of quote)
Today, on this second Sunday of Advent, we reflect on peace. How can we claim that we are striving for peace on earth when violence against half the population still exists? What can we do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqsj3j_uSfo
There are more ideas as to what we can do on
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/commemoration/vaw-vff/remembrance-commemoration-en.html