Evidence of meeting #23 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was children.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Have any of you heard good examples of school-based curriculums that get at cyberviolence or digital literacy or consent culture? Are there any good models that we should be recommending?
Director of Member Services and Development, YWCA Canada
There's an organization, MediaSmarts, based in Ottawa, that has developed a range of really great resources for parents and teachers. I think their resources are being used in some communities, but it's not everywhere. I don't have a specific example of a school that's consistently using digital literacy, but I think it's happening, and we can certainly agree that it needs to be happening more.
NDP
Sheila Malcolmson NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Is it your sense that some individual teachers are showing leadership, but it's out of a more personal passion as opposed to a directive from their school board or from their provincial education system?
Director of Member Services and Development, YWCA Canada
Absolutely. There's also the Canadian Teachers' Federation. They are also taking a lead on disseminating resources to their members. I think it is a matter of particular focus from those who are leading the way, but there's not a systemic understanding of digital literacy.
Conservative
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Thank you, all three of you, for appearing before our committee. This has been quite enlightening to hear your comments.
Ms. Guthrie, I want to applaud your bravery in pursuing the case as you did and continuing to talk about it as well. I'm curious about what your thoughts are in terms of federal legislation that might help prosecution in a case like yours. I know you'd like to see a more of a restorative justice side to it. If that harassment had happened to you off-line, is there anything different that could have been used that doesn't exist for online harassment?
Maybe the answer is no.
Social Justice Advocate, As an Individual
It's a good question.
The reality is that the way the law is written does encompass any form of communication. The criminal harassment law is completely written in such a way that does encompass online communication, so I don't think the law itself is the problem. The prosecutor in my case performed to the expectations of her profession. I think the problem is more with the way the system is designed, in that there is no one in the process whose job is to support the survivor and advocate for the survivor.
As I said, I understand why the system was built that way, but it means that in situations like gender-based violence, the system just reproduces existing inequities.
Social Justice Advocate, As an Individual
Exactly. I've had so many people tell me that they won't come forward because they saw what happened to me.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
I don't know if it was you, but we did talk about moderating online cyberviolence and we talked about how it would be of benefit to have more women involved in STEM and that type of career. Do you have any other suggestions for how that can be moderated? We have a fine line between the moderating and the free speech aspect, so I'm wondering if you have any other suggestions on how it can be moderated.
Social Justice Advocate, As an Individual
I think for me the bright line is human rights. If there were a more nuanced and deeper understanding of human rights among the people who moderate, say, Facebook pages or Twitter, then there would be a greater understanding of why somebody tweeting at you about your stinky vagina or whatever is in fact a violation of your human rights. That kind of thing is frequently not taken seriously by these platforms as a form of hate speech, so that's where I think the lack of understanding is.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Thank you.
This is to the ladies from the YWCA.
You run a program called Turning Point across nine provinces and one of the territories. One of the things that has come up in the minister's consultations has been the need for more specific programs that are adapted specifically for the north.
I'm wondering how you see your gender-based violence programs. Do you use the same format right across the country? Do you run into issues in terms of different communities? Does it need to be adapted for that?
Director of Member Services and Development, YWCA Canada
The Turning Point programs are actually very specific to the community and to the YWCA and based on their community needs. They're reflective.
I guess it starts there. If a community has a higher need to support girls and young women's programming, then that violence intervention piece is a Turning Point program. There are also Turning Point programs that are employment-based. It's about recognizing the need of women in that community and reflecting that need. These programs can be adapted across the country, because they're community-based.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
This question can be for both of you.
I'm wondering if you see any ways that social media can be leveraged to combat gender-based violence. We had Carol Todd and Leah Parsons here at our previous meeting talking about cellphone companies. One of the things that struck me was that Bell Media is doing a fantastic program called Bell Let's Talk, which raises awareness about mental health. I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on those types of public awareness programs being used to curb gender-based violence.
Director, Advocacy and Public Policy, YWCA Canada
We use social media extensively in our work, promoting everything we do. We push policy papers, press releases, programs, and projects out on social media, so they're there on Facebook and Twitter. I haven't gotten into the other programs, such as Instagram.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
There's only so much your brain can take in at one time.
Director, Advocacy and Public Policy, YWCA Canada
In addition, I did bring some cards. There's the Safety Siren, which you can download to your phone. That's a safety application that exists because of digital applications. That's a way for any woman to be safer. Our #NOTokay campaign is a media literacy tool you can use online to call out abusive or violent images, videos, music videos. It's a tool for answering back.
For us it's not just a problem; it's also a tool. I think that's what you're hearing a bit when Steph says she needs access to Twitter to live her life. The answer to cyberviolence is not for young women and girls and us not to be in the digital world; the answer is to set some limits so that there is controlled behaviour.
September 28th, 2016 / 4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Thank you very much.
I want to start with the YWCA. You spoke about the #NOTokay program, which is trying to highlight how misogyny and violence have been integrated into many different shows, music videos, and video games.
What individuals do you feel are best to take on this message that children and young adults are seeing from these sorts of media? What is the best way of getting that to the children? Is it through family, through teachers? What is the best method, and who should be bringing that message to the kids?
Director of Member Services and Development, YWCA Canada
I think it should be a holistic approach. We keep going back to public health messaging, about washing hands and how that had to move through a range of different communities. It started with children, and then it was in workplaces everywhere. I think it's a responsibility we all have. In every action and every moment we have, we must recognize the compassion and empathy we can have for one another. This should trickle down into online and off-line spaces so that organizations and institutions are trying to create empathy and accountability and compassion in all the work they do. That's the direction I think we should be going.
Conservative
Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
It may be easier to coordinate these things in the education and health systems because they already have platforms to educate or to share the message. The biggest thing I find as a parent—and I think many other parents feel the same—is that we have a disconnect. Once they leave school, we have to recognize that these things are on all the time.
You mentioned MediaSmarts. How can we make parents more aware, and how can we educate them in the best methods? What is the best way of communicating this to them, to get them on board to make sure that our children are safe?
Director of Member Services and Development, YWCA Canada
I have a dream that when you buy something from Staples, Best Buy, or Future Shop, you would find in the box a pamphlet of information with an online code that provides you with a connection to the information you need. It's right there when you're purchasing the device. It would give parents and everyone an opportunity to think about some of issues associated with online practices. It would provide a better understanding of what you post and how long it will live online. It would back to the connection with accountability and empathy.
That's my personal opinion and hope—
