Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, violence is an everyday occurrence for far too many Canadian women and girls. According to statistics, many types of violence continue to affect mainly women and girls. Statistics also show that indigenous women are particularly vulnerable. They are three times more likely to report being victims of violence than other Canadian women.
Many women and girls end up trapped in a cycle of violence, inequality, and victimization as a result of the combined effect of many factors such as poverty, lack of community support, and lack of affordable or supervised housing. This cycle can be passed on from one generation to the next and can be a source of ongoing suffering for Canadian women and their families. This situation is unacceptable. A life without violence is a fundamental human right. No woman should be deprived of that right.
Our government is determined to address this complicated problem, which will require a comprehensive action plan. As decision-makers, we have a responsibility to find and support innovate ways to address the root causes of violence against women and girls, as well as to come up with positive solutions to stop the cycle of violence from continuing from one generation to the next.
That is why the Minister of Status of Women was mandated to develop and implement a comprehensive federal strategy to combat sexual violence. We are working on developing a strategy that will recognize the range of interventions required, including legislative measures to prevent violence, support survivors and improve the justice system; use federal programs already in place; align with the efforts already being carried out in provinces and territories, or expand them; and include an important monitoring component to enable us to monitor and evaluate progress.
This work is already under way. The minister has started to meet with organizations, people working for the cause, her provincial and territorial counterparts, and international experts in order to discuss innovative ideas for our strategy to fight sexual violence.
These efforts will be augmented by a component of our infrastructure plan. In fact, our government has committed to maintaining and expanding the network of shelters and transition houses. We are taking these steps because when we ensure that women and girls do not experience violence, we eliminate a major obstacle to the realization of their full potential and we can move closer to our objective of gender parity.