Thank you very much, and good afternoon. Bonjour.
I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for inviting Tracy MacCharles, the Minister Responsible for Women's Issues, to speak to you today, and I'm delighted to be here on her behalf. As you know, we are very committed to ending violence against women and girls in Canada and Ontario.
Although I am video conferencing from Toronto, we would also like to acknowledge indigenous peoples and their long prior history with the lands we are on today, and in particular to acknowledge the Algonquin peoples in the Ottawa region.
I want to start by telling you a bit about the Ontario Women's Directorate and the progress we are making toward the implementation of “It's Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment”, and then give you a very brief overview of some of the other work that we have undertaken to address gender-based violence and inequality.
Promoting gender equality by ending violence against women is a priority for the Government of Ontario. We want to make Ontario a place where everyone can live free from the fear, threat, or experience of sexual violence and harassment.
The Ontario Women's Directorate provides advice and support to the Minister Responsible for Women's Issues and all government ministries throughout the development and implementation of policies and programs related to violence against women, gender equality, and women's economic empowerment. Our key ministry partners are helping us to end the global pandemic of gender-based violence and inequality, and we continue to engage experts, communities, survivors, and the public.
Let me speak specifically on stopping sexual violence and harassment. In March 2015, Ontario launched “It's Never Okay: An Action Plan to Stop Sexual Violence and Harassment”. This three-year plan builds on previous work and includes an investment of $41 million.
We continue raising awareness about sexual violence and harassment through public education. Our multimedia campaign, #WhoWillYouHelp, received 85 million views worldwide, producing measurable results.
Six months after the campaign launched, the results were clear and measurable. Two-thirds of Ontarians surveyed recalled seeing the campaign, and research showed that 55% strongly agreed that they had an obligation to intervene when witnessing sexual harassment, up from 37% before the campaign launched.
Further, 92% agreed that they had an obligation to intervene if they witnessed sexual violence, up from 81% previously, and 83% agreed that if they witnessed sexual assault and did not intervene, they were in fact making a decision to allow it to continue, which is again an increase, up from 77%. These are some really great results.
Such a significant change in public attitudes in such a short period of time is rare, as we know, and we are working with other jurisdictions in Canada and beyond that have expressed interest in adapting this campaign.
We also launched a creative engagement fund that is administered by the Ontario Arts Council and supports 11 artistic projects, including a multidisciplinary arts program that will engage Franco-Ontarian youth across the province in dialogue and action on sexual violence and harassment, as well as “Sexual Assault: The Roadshow”, a pop-up, participatory art gallery in a retrofitted shipping container that will travel to 15 areas in Ontario over the next three years.
We are enhancing training and resources for service providers so that they can better assist survivors and those at risk of sexual violence. For example, bartenders, servers, and others in the hospitality sector are being trained to identify and intervene in instances of sexual violence and harassment among employees and patrons.
We are also funding seven pilot projects, under our innovation fund, focused on survivors who are at a higher risk of experiencing sexual violence and require services tailored to their needs.
We also want to improve the experience of survivors navigating the justice system, which we know can be very challenging. One way we are doing that is by providing up to four hours of free, independent legal advice to sexual assault survivors. Since the pilot program was launched in Ottawa, Toronto, and Thunder Bay in June, we've already served more than 100 survivors.
We are inspiring generational change by helping students gain a deeper understanding about the root causes of gender inequality and issues of healthy relationships. Ontario has updated the health and physical education curriculum to help students understand online safety—including the risks of sexting—healthy relationships, and consent.
In March of this year, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, 2016, a key commitment in the action plan, received royal assent. It strengthens provisions related to sexual assault and harassment in the workplace, on campus, in housing, and throughout the civil claims process.
The act actually requires colleges, universities, and private career colleges to have stand-alone sexual violence policies that are developed with student input and reviewed at least every three years. Policies must be in place by January 2017.
We wanted to raise awareness about sexual violence, challenge attitudes, encourage behavioural change, and equip bystanders with the tools to intervene. One of the lessons that we have learned is that a one-size solution does not fit all when it comes to public education campaigns. We've worked with experts in communities early to develop campaigns that are socially and culturally relevant. For example, the Ontario neighbours, friends and family initiative, which addresses domestic violence, has been adapted for francophone and indigenous communities, and for immigrant and refugee communities in 16 different languages.
While public education is a key element of the action plan, providing a forum for ongoing dialogue is also vital. With representatives from more 20 organizations, the permanent Roundtable on Violence Against Women provides advice to the Ontario government on gender-based violence. I can tell you that I attended the first of one of those meetings, and they are very passionate stakeholders.
Proactively engaging this sector on an ongoing basis is improving gender-based analysis of specific policy proposals, and it's helping us to identify promising practices from the ground up. Some examples include recommendations to develop the independent legal advice for sexual assault survivors pilot program, the sexual violence and harassment action plan, and the Ontario strategy to end human trafficking.
In February, Ontario launched Walking Together: Ontario's long-term strategy to end violence against indigenous women. This too was developed in collaboration with the joint working group on violence against aboriginal women. The strategy reflects the government's commitment to programs developed by and for indigenous people, and $100 million in new funding has been committed to support its implementation.
One initiative under this strategy is the family well-being program that was launched this year. This program supports indigenous families in crisis and helps communities address the effects of violence. The program will be available across the province, on and off reserve, and will provide 220 new workers in support of communities, additional program resources, and safe spaces for those at risk of violence.
Program models are being developed and implemented by first nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban indigenous partners and communities to respond to their local needs. Most recently, in June, we launched Ontario's strategy to end human trafficking, as I mentioned. It is aimed at raising awareness about the issue, holding traffickers accountable and, most importantly, ensuring that survivors have the support and services they need to heal.
Looking ahead, we want to build on the work of the action plan and strategies to address various parts of the spectrum of gender-based violence. We know that there is a link between women's economic security and violence. Ontario has committed to developing an economic empowerment strategy for women by the spring of 2017, and a gender wage gap strategy in 2018 that is part of that overall strategy.
Ontario has also committed to updating the domestic violence action plan, which was first launched in 2004. Ministries have gone far beyond their original commitments, and as you can imagine, the landscape has shifted.
We need to measure and sustain what's working well, but we know there is still much more to be done. Premier Wynne has set bold and ambitious goals for the women's agenda for the Government of Ontario. We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with our federal, provincial, and territorial partners to advance these goals, which include ending violence against women and girls.
I would like to conclude by offering some thoughts in areas where we think that the collaboration of federal, provincial, and territorial leadership would help to advance our shared goals.
First, by working more collaboratively, we can strengthen data collection and reporting on gender-based violence across jurisdictions, and we can increase capacity to track impact.
Second, by working across jurisdictions, we can improve violence prevention, which includes public education and engaging men and boys in the dialogue.
Third, together we can do more to address cyberviolence, an issue that crosses provincial, territorial, and international borders. We respectfully submit that it is an area that could benefit from national leadership and a review of criminal law that incorporates a survivor-centred approach.
Working with provinces and territories, again, the federal government can identify and mobilize evidence-based initiatives and explore issues related to immigration status and intersections where vulnerability to gender-based violence exists.
Finally, Ontario is looking forward to co-chairing the next federal-provincial-territorial meeting on the status of women in June. We hope to provide an opportunity for us all to collaborate and address key and serious issues, such as human trafficking and the gender wage gap.
In closing, I want to thank the committee again for inviting us. Lisa and I are delighted to be here and delighted to have the opportunity, and we would be happy to take questions at the appropriate time.
Thank you.