We are calling on the Vancouver Police Department to conduct a thorough investigation of these and other sexist attacks, and to ensure that the men who are committing violence against women will be held accountable by the criminal justice system.
Canada has been criticized by the United Nations for its shameful income assistance rates. Women return to or cannot leave abusive relationships because they are unable to adequately provide for themselves and their children on welfare. A crucial measure to prevent the vulnerability of women to men's violence is in providing economic security to aboriginal women.
Prostitution is a prime example of how the forces of sexism, poverty, and racism serve as a vice grip on women’s freedom. I maintain that all three issues must be addressed to abolish it. A good start would be to decriminalize prostituted women, and enforce the criminalization of johns and pimps. Legitimating this exploitation by labeling it work, does not serve the equality interests of women.
The Public Commission on Legal Aid was established the Canadian Bar Association BC branch in June of 2010 to engage the public of British Columbia in order to determine their priorities regarding legal aid in the province of British Columbia.
Understanding that the poverty of women is an equality issue obligates the federal government to secure and ensure economic independence for the women in Canada
Raped women, who so often find their reports of rape “unfounded” by police, would stand to benefit from some method of holding police accountable. What women demand is a civilian run police complaints system that is empowered to order police
to co-operate and to enforce its decisions against police.
Personal and political decisions are made at kitchen tables everyday as we share our foods and lived experiences; we teach and learn from all women. The work in our kitchen is much more than preparing meals.
In 2009, the collective at Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter took to the streets every time a woman in Canada was killed by her male partner. In our woman-only action we held signs with the murdered woman's name, age, and date of her death. We mourned the women who had been murdered by their husbands.
