Thank you, honourable members of the study. Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee and share with you my experience as a survivor of violence against women, as a front-line worker and as a lead of a shelter for abused women and children, and as someone who has spent nearly 30 years working to end violence against women and children.
My name is Sharlene Tygesen, and I am the executive director of Ernestine's Women's Shelter in Rexdale, Ontario. Ernestine's was opened in 1983 by a group of community members who saw a need for a safe place for women and children fleeing violence. Since that time, Ernestine's has assisted over 5,000 families with critical immediate care services. I think it's safe to say we know a thing or two about domestic violence and intimate partner abuse.
I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to provide my experience. I hope this study continues to reach out and listen to front-line organizations such as Ernestine's but the key word is listen. Because if you do listen, you will quickly realize there isn't an enormous amount of information that is revolutionary or new.
I could tell you stories starting with my own about what it means to encounter violence and abuse, or I could tell you the stories of all the families who have sought shelter or critical immediate care services at Ernestine's alone. Our shelter is one of 13 in the greater Toronto area and one of approximately 593 across the country. If I started telling stories of each of the 3,300 women and 3,000 children who seek refuge in our country's shelters every day, I would be speaking non-stop for more than four days. The sad part is that I wouldn't be telling this committee anything it hasn't already heard in some form or another.
Evidence of the severity of the scope of the violence against women and children is well known, well researched, and indisputable. One out of three women has been beaten, forced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Every second a woman somewhere in Canada experiences some form of sexual violence. Eighty percent of aboriginal women have been assaulted or abused. Women with disabilities are 150 times more likely to be sexually abused or assaulted than women without disabilities.
In Canada, one to two women are murdered by a former or current partner every week. Every year in Canada, up to 360,000 children are exposed to domestic violence. Children who witness family violence often display elevated rates of depression, aggression, delinquency, and other emotional issues.
Women are three times more likely than men to be physically injured by spousal violence and five times more likely to require medical attention. Eighty-nine percent of sexual assault victim survivors have no visible physical injuries. Violence against women and girls is a global pandemic. Violence is a major factor in women's health and well-being. Health-related costs of violence against women in Canada exceed $1.5 billion a year. Five hundred women and children have been murdered in Ontario alone since 1990. How long to tell all those stories? Do we really need to go over all of this again?
This government has a bold initiative to improve the lives of women and children across the globe. It's called “Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm's Reach” and has been announced with justifiable pride and fanfare. How unfortunate from the perspective of organizations who have had to deal with the day-to-day realities of violence and abuse that the government has been systematically taking deliberate steps to place safety beyond the reach of many women and children.
This has been going on since 2006 when Status of Women Canada had its budget reduced by 40% and 12 of its 16 offices were closed. At the same time, the government changed the funding rules to specifically exclude organizations that the government feels are providing advocacy, including the defunding and resulting closure of the National Association of Women and the Law, a vital legal advocacy resource. Make no mistake, we cannot change our society for the better. We cannot rid ourselves of the horrible costs of violence and abuse without advocating for actual recognition of the rights of women and children.
Despite repeated calls by women's groups, first nations and provincial leaders, this government has also refused to launch an inquiry into the more than 1,200 aboriginal women missing and murdered since 1970. We cannot hope to address the complex needs of vulnerable communities such as first nations without an honest and transparent study of those socio-economic causes and effects of violence and abuse.
This government eliminated the national child care program, which previous governments had spent years negotiating with the provinces. Lack of access to adequate child care resources is a critical factor in a woman's return to an abusive relationship and can completely deny her the opportunity to realize economic self-sufficiency. It also places children at risk by returning them to unsafe and unhealthy environments for lack of better affordable options.
There is no federal initiative like the Ontario partner assault response services program that uses the resources of the justice system to identify and intervene in the cycle of abuse, by holding abusers accountable and requiring mandatory counselling and education. Instead, the federal approach is to offer support as victims of crime rather than acknowledging the gender composition of this violence.
As this government sends millions of dollars overseas, we are doing very little to address the human and financial costs of violence and abuse in our own society.
Your own Department of Justice concluded in a 2012 study that the total economic cost of domestic violence is $7.4 billion every year. That is a staggering amount of money. We wouldn't even need anywhere near that amount to make lasting and effective change in this country. The incentives are there, both human and economic, so what is stopping the federal government from decisively leading Canada and the world toward the end of violence and abuse?
I have some recommendations for a national action plan and I'm happy to offer my thoughts, but I'm sure you've already heard what I'm about to tell you. In fact, the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses has presented almost exactly these findings in its 2013 case of a national action plan on violence against women.
I recommend that the federal government lead the provinces, territories, and aboriginal governments in the collaborative effort to address violence and abuse.
I recommend that as part of this effort the federal government ensure that all levels of government continue to draw on the advice and expertise of survivors, shelters, and community organizations.
I recommend that this federal government recognize the gender reality of domestic violence and intimate partner abuse and the historically unequal power relationships between men and women.
I recommend that this government recognize that gendered violence is a form of discrimination and a violation of the human rights of women and children.
I recommend that the government, in partnership with provinces, territories, and aboriginal governments, implement clear strategies to help communities prevent and respond to different types of violence.
I recommend that this government undertake an inquiry into the causes and outcomes of domestic violence in aboriginal and other vulnerable communities, particularly the cause and solution to missing and murdered aboriginal women.
I recommend that this government, in partnership with provincial, territorial, and aboriginal governments, create initiatives to address socio-economic factors contributing to the violence against women, particularly education, housing, pay equity, and the provision of a natural socialized child care.
I recommend that this government clearly set specific goals, timelines, and outcomes for measuring progress.
Finally, I recommend that this government commit adequate human and financial resources to specifically carry out a national action plan.
Once again, I am truly grateful to all of you for having me here and the opportunity to share my experience and my recommendations.