Status of Women Committee on Oct. 3rd, 2016

[Alicia Raimundo]

My biggest priority would be to co-design it with the victims, because a really well-intentioned program has turned out to be quite harmful. To say that we're going to bring in cops and try to scare kids by telling them that it's violent.... The minute the cops leave, the kids laugh at them. I think it's really about co-designing with the victims the solutions the victims need, because everyone around them, their support networks, may have opinions on what's happening, but nobody knows it like the victims do.

[Nancy Beth Guptill]

Another area that we feel is strongly needed is parent education. What the youths are sharing with us is that a significant percentage will not go to their parents, for a whole host of reasons, or to adults. They see that adults are not in a position to help, because they don't understand the space and they're not able to help with the technology. We see a need for a very strong focus in digital literacy and competency among parents. Also, that education needs to start at the elementary school age level, both at the parent level and at the level of the children.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Perfect.

Also, Alicia, thanks for teaching me new words today. I've never heard of “doxing” and “groupthink”, but it's truly that. It's that mob thinking when you look at the young boys or young men who are choosing a young victim like you, and it is horrifying.

From your own experience—and you don't have to answer this question—do you feel like a victim who has moved forward and now is able to help out everybody else? Do you feel that you've moved forward? Where do you feel right now, personally, if you don't mind my asking?

[Alicia Raimundo]

Actually, I have a really strong support network. I have a partner who's very passionate about this space, so I feel pretty good.

Now Twitter is actually allowing you to report abusive behaviours when you're not the person who is being abused, and that's been a wonderful step in the right direction.

I would say that I feel a tinge of hopelessness for the young people who don't have the supports that I do, the young people who Lisa brought up. They're facing a bunch of barriers and probably homelessness because of the fact that those people are calling people's workplaces and putting their livelihoods in jeopardy. It shouldn't be allowed to happen.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

All right. That's the end of your time.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for testifying and helping us find solutions. That was wonderful.

I also want to thank Ms. Damoff for standing in and doing such a great job in the chair, impromptu, in the informal part of the meeting beforehand.

I have two things for those of you on the committee.

You will be receiving a letter from the clerk. There is an initiative going on to try to light up the Hill in purple on November 15 to recognize the fight against the abuse of women. When you get that letter, you may want to consider writing a letter of support or whatever.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

I would just like to address this.

Peter Fragiskatos, Kate Young, Irene Mathyssen, and I, as a non-partisan event, will be hosting this evening. It's with the London Abused Women's Centre and Megan Walker, who around the country is renowned for all the hard work she's done. As a group, we are trying to get the Parliament Building lit up in purple, and we're asking that everybody wear purple that day to show our support. If you wish to write a letter, so that we can ask the both the Speaker of the House and the Speaker to help us out financially by not charging them, that would be awesome.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

That's on November 15.

On Wednesday, we will have the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, and the director of law reform with the West Coast LEAF Association, so there will be lots of focus on the law.

Mr. Fraser.

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Very quickly, as we often do, I would like to extend an invite to any of the witnesses who might still be on the line, that if you have written supplementary submissions to help clarify anything we heard today, to submit them so we can consider those on the record as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Yes, thank you very much for reminding me. Good stuff.

Thank you all for your participation. We shall see you on Wednesday.

The meeting is adjourned.