Thank you, Madam Chair.
I wish to first thank the committee for the opportunity to appear here today. We truly welcome your committee's study of best practices in education programs, social programs, and policies that can prevent violence against women in Canada.
It's especially timely that the committee launches this important study as Canada prepares to mark the 16 days of activism against gender violence from November 25 to December 10. This includes, as you all know, December 6, Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal, where 14 young women lost their lives.
Each year, commemorative events such as the 16 days of activism, and others such as the International Day of the Girl, which took place on October 11, provide us with the opportunity to raise awareness among Canadians of ways to reduce and prevent violence against women and girls.
These commemorative dates are part of the comprehensive approach that Status of Women Canada takes to promoting gender equality between men and women. We do this by addressing three distinct but interconnected priorities: first, ending violence against women and girls; second, increasing women's economic security and prosperity; third, encouraging increased representation of women in leadership and decision-making roles.
Through this approach, reducing and preventing violence against women and girls is a key building block for success in other aspects of their lives.
In Canada, addressing violence against women and girls is a responsibility that is shared quite widely. This includes a number of federal departments and agencies, some with representatives here with me today, other levels of government, and many organizations at the national, regional and local level. I hope that I can talk you into wanting to hear from a number of them.
The approach of the Women's Program at Status of Women Canada is to partner with groups and organizations across the country that in turn engage local communities in reducing and preventing violence against women and girls.
This includes projects to end violence against women and girls in rural and remote communities, violence committed in the name of so-called “honour”, and working to prevent the trafficking of women and girls. We are also helping communities engage youth in preventing or eliminating cyberviolence and sexual violence against young women and girls.
And while the Women's Program does not fund projects directly with schools, the organizations we partner with provide a variety of learning opportunities in the community, which can include schools. I will talk to you about this again later.
For example, Status of Women Canada is funding the white ribbon campaign to deliver the project Huddle Up and Make the Call. Those of you who are football fans may recognize this. It is done in partnership with the Toronto Argonauts Football Club. The project utilizes the power of student-led initiatives and athlete testimonials to address gender-based violence in high schools in the greater Toronto area. It promotes and supports equitable, healthy relationships and safe environments for all students, and it inspires students to engage their peers and their communities in ending all forms of violence against women and girls.
Another example is our support to the Canadian Red Cross and Respect Group Inc., which are working together on a project to prevent relationship violence among Canadian teens. As part of this project, an online educational workshop is being created to raise awareness about relationship violence and to promote healthy relationships among young Canadians aged 14 to 18 years.
These are just sample projects. We also undertake calls for proposals that reflect our very deliberate efforts to invite stakeholders to come forward with new ideas that address different forms of violence.
For example, a recent call for proposals was aiming to engage communities to end violence against women and girls. It included themes of engaging men and boys in ending violence against women and girls. The projects that are being supported through this call are developing and strengthening the skills of men and boys, working in partnership of course with women and girls to identify and respond to the issues of gender-based violence in their communities.
We also have a number of other projects underway. Their specific aim is to engage young people in preventing violence against women on university and college campuses. These projects are addressing institutional barriers and other factors, such as institutional policies and programs, social dynamics, security provisions and physical safety issues, that limit the efforts of campus communities to address the issue of violence against their young female students.
These projects are building partnerships in order to respond to the specific issues of gender violence on campus, and to meet the needs of their female students. At Status of Women Canada, we feel that the best way to define local needs and to develop the strategies, tools and resources to meet those needs is to work with skilled partners. Each of the initiatives I have spoken about today reflects that approach. I hope that I will have the opportunity to tell you about other initiatives in the next hour.
We share the results of these projects widely through our website and we hold knowledge-sharing events to ensure that best practices and sustainable solutions can be encouraged and replicated across the country.
I hope this information I've provided will be useful for your committee's study. I would be very pleased to answer any questions you may have.