May 30, 2013

JACKSON KATZ JOINS PROVINCE TO PROMOTE BREAK THE SILENCE CAMPAIGN

Jackson Katz, a well-respected educator, author and co-founder of a violence prevention program used by the American military and several professional sports leagues, is in Winnipeg to help the province promote its multi-year domestic violence prevention strategy, Labour Minister Jennifer Howard, minister responsible for the status of women, announced today.
Katz will help reinforce the province’s campaign message that men need to join the stand against violence inflicted on women, she said.
“Our multi-year strategy encouraging male role models has been widely embraced by many
high-profile men including members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and our guest speaker Jackson Katz,” said Howard.  “We appreciate their support in promoting the Break the Silence message.”
Katz presented a lecture on An Evening with Men:  Solutions to End Violence in Winnipeg yesterday.
Today, Katz appeared at a Sport Manitoba workshop for Sport Manitoba executive and staff.  This will be followed by the Break the Silence luncheon at the Legislative Dining Room where he will meet with MLAs, city councillors, business leaders and Winnipeg Blue Bomber board members among other guests.
Howard noted the province launched an Aboriginal component to the campaign earlier this year with the message ‘End violence against Aboriginal women and girls’ being promoted through a public awareness campaign.  The promotion, supported in partnership with a variety of First Nations groups, encourages Aboriginal men to speak out against domestic violence.
The province has also developed a significant inventory of Blue Bomber video clips in both French and English, encouraging men of all ages to understand the message that violence against women under any circumstance is not acceptable.  Information about the campaign and new videos by Blue Bombers are available at www.manitoba.ca/stoptheviolence.

Jackson Katz - Ted Talk - Gender Violence and more

http://youtu.be/KTvSfeCRxe8

 Bias Against Abused Mothers in Child Custody Cases - BC LEAF report

Bias Against Abused Mothers in Child Custody Cases: Report
New study finds systemic problems in parental capacity assessments discriminate against women.
By Katie Hyslop, 24 July 2012, TheTyee.ca

View full article and comments: http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/07/24/Child-Custody-Report/

When a woman flees an abusive relationship, we expect the justice system will protect her and her children.
But a new report finds in some British Columbian child custody cases allegations of spousal abuse are used to paint the mother as mentally ill or an "alienating" parent, and instead recommend visitation, or even custody, for the abusive parent.
"Troubling Assessments: Custody and Access Reports and their Equality Implications for BC Women" - http://www.westcoastleaf.org/userfiles/file/Troubling%20Assessments%20e-report%202012.pdf - is a new report released today by West Coast LEAF, a women's legal education and advocacy organization. The report looks at what are known under the Family Relations Act as Section 15 reports: parental capacity assessments conducted during child custody and access cases.
Often a useful tool for getting a third-party, outsider's view of parenting abilities, the report found they could also be biased against and dangerous for vulnerable women with abusive ex-partners.
While there are specific guidelines to follow for family counsellors and social workers regarding family violence and the use of these reports, psychologists in B.C. have no such criteria. In addition, judges often take assessors' advice at face value, and limited access to legal aid in B.C. prevents many women from challenging assessments they view as biased.
"West Coast LEAF believes that women's equality is not served by the regime governing custody and access reports as it currently stands," reads the report. (...)

July 25, 2012

MANITOBA TO HOST THIRD NATIONAL ABORIGINAL WOMEN'S SUMMIT

– – –
Focus on Ending Violence Against Aboriginal Women, Girls: Robinson

Manitoba will host the third National Aboriginal Women’s Summit (NAWS III) Nov. 1 and 2 in Winnipeg, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson announced today. 
“We all have a stake in stopping the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable women and girls in Canada,” said Robinson.  “This summit is a critical opportunity for governments to continue working with those on the front lines toward ending a national tragedy that knows no provincial boundaries.”
Key decision makers from the federal, provincial and territorial governments and national Aboriginal organizations will be invited to participate in NAWS III.
The first National Aboriginal Women’s Summit was held in Newfoundland in 2007 and resulted in numerous recommendations aimed at improving social and economic conditions of Aboriginal women and their families.  The second summit was held in the Northwest Territories in 2008 and built upon the recommendations of the first in areas such as health, safety, wellness, equality and empowerment, said Robinson.

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U.N. Officials Accuse Congo Soldiers of Rape - NYTimes.com

U.N. Officials Accuse Congo Soldiers of Rape - NYTimes.com

Jamaica's Growing Violence Threatens Retiree Economy - WSJ.com

Some Canadians save up their money throughout their working lives and expect a nice retirement to their warm countries of origin but sometimes going back is not that easy. Life is different and many live with the regret or making the move back - read this story about some couples who returned to retire in Jamaica

Jamaica's Growing Violence Threatens Retiree Economy - WSJ.com

Say No Violence against Women and Girls

UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi:


New UN Gender Entity a Historic Step for Gender Equality and

the Empowerment of Women



Dear Say NO friends and partners,



Today is a historic day. This afternoon, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously decided to establish UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of a strong UN organization that will be a champion to promote and advance the rights of women and girls worldwide has been a goal we have been advocating for many years, and I know that you will join me in celebrating and embracing this momentous achievement.



As many of you will know, UN Women will merge UNIFEM with its three existing sister UN entities working on gender issues – the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW); the Office of the Special Advisor for Gender Issues (OSAGI); and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). For many years, we have effectively worked with national, regional and global partners to generate a stronger public policy response to previously under-recognized women's rights issues, such as ending violence against women, increasing women's political participation, and prioritizing women's leadership in forging peace and security.



At the same time, we have faced serious challenges in our efforts to support countries to implement commitments to gender equality, in part because of inadequate funding and because there was no single recognized driver to lead the UN response for gender equality support. This is why we wholeheartedly joined women’s rights advocates and UN Member States in the call to strengthen the UN system to render even stronger support to the advancement of gender equality.



Today marks a great new beginning, not an end. The kind of work that UNIFEM has supported will continue as we merge into an institution that will be more robust and coherent, better positioned and resourced than the sum of its constituent parts. Through UN Women, we will be stronger in our mutual goal to end violence against women. Let’s seize this moment, and the momentum, and work with renewed energy and enthusiasm.



Inés Alberdi

Executive Director, UNIFEM

Bill Moyers & Jane Goodall: What Chimps Reveal About Human Brutality, Violence, Compassion and Hope | Environment | AlterNet

Bill Moyers & Jane Goodall: What Chimps Reveal About Human Brutality, Violence, Compassion and Hope Environment AlterNet

October 29, 2009

MANITOBA URGES STRONGER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTION ON ISSUE OF MURDERED, MISSING WOMEN: CHOMIAK

– – –Province Asks Ottawa to Reform Justice Inefficiencies, Simplify Process for Police to Obtain Warrants Attorney General Dave Chomiak urged the federal government today to take a leadership role in co‑ordinating national efforts to end the tragedy of missing and murdered women.

“In Manitoba, the RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service have created an integrated task force to review all outstanding cases and have also stepped up measures to quickly find women who are reported missing,” said Chomiak, who is attending a conference of federal, provincial and territorial justice ministers in Fredericton this week.

“This issue goes beyond the boundaries of Manitoba. It is a national scourge that requires a national effort to solve these horrendous crimes and save lives,” Chomiak said.

The minister also called on Ottawa to reform the Criminal Code to remove inefficiencies that hinder criminal investigations. At present, the code often requires police to make multiple applications before different judicial officers when applying for wiretaps, search warrants and surveillance orders.

“This inefficient process requires police and judicial officials to duplicate their work and can lead to delays in investigations, increased risk of security leaks and the possibility of inconsistent decisions,” Chomiak said. “We urge the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to allow all warrant applications arising from a police investigation to be brought before one judge in a single application.”

While at the Fredericton conference, Chomiak and other justice ministers are sharing information on crime-fighting initiatives and justice reforms. Among the key measures under examination are priorities identified by the western provinces to combat organized crime.

This follows on fruitful meetings of western ministers of justice in September and March of this year, Chomiak said.

“Organized gangs are behind much of the crime we see on the streets of our cities,” the minister said. “By working together on co-ordinated approaches we improve our ability to make all Canadians safer.”

Remembrance Day for Women and Girls Killed
All across Canada today vigils and memorial ceremonies are held to remember women who have been killed for no other reason except that they are women. Primarily it is to remember the 14 girls who were killed on this day in 1989 at Polytechnic Ecole in Montreal. Marc Lepine was the man who pulled the trigger on these young, promising engineering students and then finally on himself.
For most of these young girls their day had started out with hopes and promise, they had kissed their loved ones good bye promising to “see you later”. They never knew that there would be no later. That was it.
This morning in Winnipeg Manitoba, I attended such a ceremony at the Legislative Building (by the way, I think our Legislative Building in Winnipeg is the best). The morning started off with a beautiful song in French by Dominique Reynolds singer/Songwriter. This was followed by some speeches and the reading of the names of the 14 women killed in Montreal along with a few other names of women killed in Manitoba by their male partners. As their names were called young women walked up and place a rose for each in a vase set in the middle of the staircase.
Surrounded the audience were some 15 silhouettes in the shape of women. They represented the women who had been killed plus one which represented “every woman” who was killed in family violence, who was murdered in sex trade and whose murderer had not been found who had committed suicide because she could not see a way out of her abusive situation.
This event always moves me to tear. It could have been me and so we must remember all the women some of who may be our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and those women who still remain nameless.