We do not accept murder, rape, wife battering and incest as inevitable and we do not accept prostitution as inevitable.
These are all acts done by men to women in patriarchal world where the relationship between men and women are based on domination and subordination. We do not accept that this kind of relationships between men and women are inevitable.
Learning that Indigenous women in pre-colonial Canada were treated in their nations with respect and honor, gives us hope. It reinforces our refusal to accept women’s oppression as inevitable. Knowing that fairly recently in human history, women had social and spiritual roles that were regarded as valuable as those men had, makes our fight for liberation not only possible, but tangible.
We have asserted and won in law at least that privacy is not just an individual victim’s right but a constitutional Charter right which is fundamental to women’s equality — to have access to a safe space where you can tell your experience of male violence is at the very core of every rape crisis centre’s existence.
The way to shake the pillars of the rape structure is by holding men who commit violence against women accountable. So far, the criminal justice system has been failing to do so.
We believe men can change, but not as long as they get permission and encouragement to violate our bodily integrity and autonomy. We need to shake the pillars of the rape structure and start by holding men who commit violence against women accountable. So far, the Canadian state and its criminal justice system has been failing to do so.
A Guaranteed Livable Income must be set high enough to meet adequate standards of living. It should provide all basic necessities such as a nutritious diet, safe adequate housing, transportation, and allow for discretionary spending to enhance full participation in community life.
The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada is both a national tragedy and a national shame. The book Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada includes voices from the academic realms and grassroots and front-lines to speak on what has been identified by both the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations as a grave violation of the basic human rights of Aboriginal women and girls
By Summer Rain Bentham, Hilla Kerner, and Lisa Steacy
This research explores the experiences and perspectives of women providing front-line service in organizations and agencies, both feminist and mainstream, whose mandate includes support for women experiencing violence, particularly women in prostitution.
