I probably know who you are talking about, but we can't be perfect. We can just do what we can. These are global problems and they are trans-generational problems. We're going to live and die and they are still going to be huge problems. We just have to figure out what we can do in our time, and in our familial, professional, and political spheres of influence.
I think the federal government can do a lot. Can I just say this, because I have this opportunity? It's a great opportunity. I'll start with the United States. I think every member of Congress should be trained in all these issues. Every staff member of every member of Congress should be. It should be an expectation. If you are going to be a legislator making laws about issues like this, you need to be trained not just by hearing a briefing or reading a pile of papers, which are important, but you need to be in training.
I would also say that the connections between gender-based violence and virtually every other major social problem have been researched for decades. For example, we know there are all kinds of intersections and overlaps between issues of homelessness and domestic violence and issues of alcohol and substance abuse. Victims and perpetrators are much more likely to develop alcohol and drug addictions and other forms of self-medication against the effects of trauma. A big part of the transmission of HIV has to do with men's sexually coercive behaviours, because they refuse to wear condoms, and they pass on the virus. Their sexually coercive behaviours relate to HIV transmission. With depression, we know that perpetrators and victims have higher rates of depression.
Think of all the money the Government of Canada pays in direct and indirect costs for law enforcement, incarceration, and all of the law enforcement side of the house as well as treatment programs for alcoholism and drug addiction and the effects of secondary violence and criminality that result from some of those drug and alcohol dependencies. Think about the millions and billions of dollars that are spent every year.
By the way, one way to think about this, Madam, is that there is no peace on the streets if there's no peace at home. There is no peace in the community if there is no peace in the family. So if you want to deal, for example, with gang violence, gang violence is a big problem—