Status of Women committee  I think what sports organizations, in this case to be specific, professional sports organizations, need to be doing is providing training and education for their players, their coaches, their staff. Everybody needs to know that just because you're providing training doesn't mean that you're going to prevent every incident from happening.

Status of Women committee  One of them, as I've said, is defining it as a leadership issue. If you define it as a leadership issue, that's a positive thing. They won't feel they're being blamed, in a sense, but they're being challenged in a positive way. If it's framed as a leadership issue, a lot of men can hear what you're saying and join in.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. Another way to get men involved is to make connections between the issues of gender-based violence and men's experiences. Do you know how many adult men have grown up in homes where they were the victims, they and their sisters and brothers were the victims of their father's violence against their mother?

Status of Women committee  That's right, and in the role they play. For example, RCMP officials and RCMP officers, etc., are embedded in communities and families and some of them are coaches in communities where they coach kids' hockey teams. They're a part of the community, but you have access to them in the sense that they are employees of the government.

Status of Women committee  Again, this is a big, important question. Obviously, and I'll say this for the record and you all know this, these are issues across the board in socio-economically disadvantaged communities and in wealthy communities. It cuts across the board. They are in first nations communities obviously but they are also in wealthy, white communities.

Status of Women committee  Sure. Madam, thank you. MVP—that's the acronym—was a program I created back in 1993 in Boston at the Center for the Study of Sport in Society, which is an institute that was created in 1984 with the idea of using sports culture as the platform or catalyst for social activism around various issues, including racism and other issues.

Status of Women committee  Yes.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for asking the question and seeking my input. In thinking about this opportunity here with all of you today, part of what I was thinking was.... Obviously I don't know anywhere near what you know about the kinds of legislation you could be effective in passing or not passing, and what it could do or what it couldn't do, but I can give you some ideas about what occurs to me that could be done at the federal level.

Status of Women committee  That's correct, because families are one constituent part of a larger society, so families themselves are profoundly impacted by all of the other forces in society. For example, I'm a father. My wife and I have a 13-year-old son, and clearly I am the most important man in my son's life.

Status of Women committee  Yes. Just as one point of information, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, rather than the country of Georgia.

Status of Women committee  I appreciate that. Some people would say it's a different country. Some of the states in the United States are so different from each other, but we're all in the United States. One of the ways I would put this is that there are differences but the similarities are bigger than the differences.

Status of Women committee  Even though it doesn't seem like a tough question it's a tough question. I think so much needs to be done that hasn't been done. I think people get bits and pieces. I don't know that I can say what I think needs to be done has been done comprehensively anywhere. For example, I travel on university campuses constantly.

Status of Women committee  Yes. I think if there's a single answer, that's the answer: yes. I don't think boys are born biologically predetermined and genetically predestined to be abusive towards women or to treat women with disrespect. I think it's learned behaviour. A lot of people will use the term “learned behaviour”, but I'd rather say it's “taught behaviour”, because everything that's learned is taught.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you very much for this opportunity. This is a great opportunity and an honour for me to be with all of you this morning. I'm in Atlanta, Georgia. I don't live here but I'm travelling, giving a series of talks, and I'm happy to be talking with you.