Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this matter today.
Geneviève Bergeron, Hélèn Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Havernick, Barbara Marta Klucknik, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie
St-Arnault and Annie Turcotte. These are the names of the 14 women whose lives were needlessly extinguished at the Ècole Polytechnique five years ago.
It has always bothered me that the name of their assailant comes more readily to mind than theirs. Today and every future December 6 is now designated as Canada's national day of remembrance and action to end violence against women. Ceremonies, vigils and public actions will focus public awareness on the many far-reaching implications of violence against women. These involve the social, psychological and economic well-being of women, men and children across society and across Canada.
Tonight in my city of London a monument memorializing the 14 women and others who are victims of violence is being unveiled. The monument is inscribed: "The London Women's Monument was dedicated on December 6, 1994, the fifth anniversary of the Montreal massacre. It is a place to remember and reflect on violence, particularly violence against women, and all women and men who work to end it".
Women's rights are human rights. We must acknowledge that violence against women is often a byproduct of gendered social inequality and can be a rejection of women's progressive empowerment.
Change can be led by governments but the most effective change begins with individuals. All men and women can make a personal commitment to the principle of zero tolerance, that no amount of violence is acceptable and that women's safety is a priority. As individuals we can focus more on co-operation instead of competition.
Earlier today the four federal and provincial female London politicians, representing three different political parties, issued a joint statement speaking out against violence against women. Violence against women is a social issue, even though many see it only as a political issue.
As individuals we can decide not to laugh at women-hating jokes, just as we do not laugh at racial slurs. Violence against women is not a funny issue. As individuals we can listen and discuss women's experiences, their fears and the equality barriers they face. It is still much more comfortable to be dismissive or to trivialize the alarming statistics which we have now compiled. Denial has never solved problems. It is time now to speak out and challenge any tolerance of violence or sexist behaviour.
Where possible, individuals can give financial or political support to services for victims and survivors. Individuals can volunteer at local transition homes and rape crisis shelters and be supportive of municipal, provincial, federal and non-government initiatives in their own neighbourhoods and cities. Violence against women robs women of their self-esteem, their dignity and in too many cases it robs them of their life.
Since Statistics Canada conducted its first national survey on violence against women in 1993, which was the first of its kind worldwide, the gravity of the situation has been brought to light. According to this survey, as many as 51 per cent of Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. Almost 45 per cent of all women experienced violence by men known to them, their dates, boyfriends, marital partners, friends, family, their neighbours.
A woman is shot every six days in Canada. Firearms are the weapon of choice for spousal homicides. During the period between 1974 and 1992, 42 per cent of the women killed by their spouses were shot. As shattering as these statistics are they only account for part of the problem since Statistics Canada defines violence as experiences of physical or sexual assault. It does not touch upon other dimensions of violence to which many women are subjected.
Three other areas identified in the 1993 report "Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence-Achieving Equality" are psychological violence, being violence that encompasses various tactics to undermine a woman's self-confidence; financial violence whereby a woman's access to employment or investment opportunities are curtailed by a partner or family member; and spiritual abuse in which cultural and religious beliefs are destroyed through ridicule or punishment. A wide range of indicators give evidence that this societal ill is pervasive and systemic.
As a result women from all walks of life are targets of various acts of violence. Not only are the causes and the forms of violence against women extremely insidious but so too are their effects. Violence scars not only women but also the children and the men around them. It marks the body but also deeply wounds the mind and the spirit of those affected.
As a result of having been abused a woman's physical and/or mental health may be at stake. Her chances of advancement in her working life may be jeopardized and her interpersonal skills generally deteriorate.
As well as having these devastating effects on the women concerned, such violence is proven to seriously destabilize the children who witness it. Boys who are brought up in an abusive household are more likely to become violent fathers and girls are more likely to become victims at the hands of their future partners. In fact women with violent fathers-in-law are three times more at risk than those women with non-violent fathers-in-law. We have to stop these cycles.
As in other issues such as poverty and crime there will never be one Utopian legislative effort. There are no magic wands that can instantly eradicate the scourge of violence against women.
As with all complex issues there must be interdisciplinary approaches.
First, we must state what we stand for. Canada has done this internationally by initiating the UN declaration on the elimination of violence against women which was adopted in December 1993. For the first time internationally we have the appointment of a United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women who will report to the United Nations Commissioner of Human Rights starting March 1995.
Next we look at all levels of government agendas and incorporate concrete concepts that will move us toward the goal of ending violence against women. This will of necessity include increased public education.
Last April the Department of Canadian Heritage collaboratively launched a three year radio and television campaign on violence in society. In October 1994 the court challenges program was reinstated to ensure funding for legal cases of national significance which clarify equality and language rights under Canada's Constitution.
The sentencing reform bill is now being studied in committee which would assist in providing different options to deal with crime, including violence.
Earlier this year in the House I spoke on another bill with more than 100 amendments to the Criminal Code, including provisions that would make peace bonds more effective. For example, police officers will be able to apply for peace bonds on behalf of the women at risk.
The National Crime Prevention Council was established in July 1994. It will address women's vulnerability to crime as part of its mandate.
I believe that the firearms control being introduced will also effect safety in our homes and in our streets. A national firearms registry, the banning of certain firearms, including the one used in the Montreal massacre, and more flexible prohibition orders, will benefit women and should save lives.
Last June the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the status of women adopted the Regina declaration on the rights of women subjected to violence which calls on the justice system to ensure the equal protection of women subjected to violence. In the same month the federal justice minister, the federal health minister and the Secretary of State for the Status of Women held a consultation with women's groups on the issue of violence against women. Further consultation will continue. I believe that it must be ongoing if we are to succeed in overcoming this problem.
I am grateful that members of this House have been offered this opportunity to speak on the issue today.
My wish and my hope is that the sentiments expressed within this House today will carry us forward each and every day in our jobs as legislators so that we are ever mindful of the situation of women who experience violence in Canada. I believe we are progressing and I am grateful for that. However, there is much that can still be done.
I hope that individual Canadians listening today will continue to do their part in their homes, in their communities, and in our ridings.