Madam Chair, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and the people of Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, even though we would prefer it if the issue that brings us together here this evening simply did not exist.
I really wanted to take part in this evening's debate because it is more important now than ever. The pandemic has affected lots of people in lots of ways, especially the most vulnerable people. The pandemic has also exposed other problems. Unfortunately, it has shown us just how sick our society is.
In recent weeks, there have been seven femicides in Quebec. Seven women were killed by a violent partner—seven women in seven weeks. I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims and to the family and friends of the 160 women who were victims of femicide this past year.
Some people might hear the word “femicide” and wonder what new words they will think of next, but words say more than we think. We have to call things by their true names. Violence against women is real. This is a real epidemic.
Earlier this week, a well-known media personality in Quebec criticized people and the media for using expressions like “crime of passion” and “intimate partner violence”. He was right. What we are talking about is femicide.
As others before me have probably explained, femicide refers to the killing of a woman simply because she is a woman, regardless of the context. We are talking about a hate crime against women, perpetrated by men. This is still happening far too often in 2021. It happens to our sisters, our friends, our aunts, our mothers and our daughters. In Quebec, one out of three women will be a victim of domestic violence.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this scourge. It is time to acknowledge the incredibly alarming rise in gender-based violence across the country. It is time to condemn gender-based violence in all its forms.
Just a few hours ago I learned about a woman in her 30s in Maria, in the Gaspé region, in my riding, who was hospitalized because her husband beat her on the head with a hammer. I repeat, she was beaten with a hammer. The victim apparently took advantage of the fact that her husband was working out in the garage and fled on foot to the hospital. The documents filed in court reveal that the acts of violence took place over a period of 17 years. The news is absolutely horrific. Every time we turn on the television, we hear about another tragedy like this one.
In the past few days we have seen that people seem to finally be waking up and wanting to do something tangible. I sincerely hope that this will encourage women who are victims of violence to leave and report their abuser. I hope that this shows that we want to do better and fight with them. Everyone has a role to play to improve the society we live in, not just elected members and governments. We can certainly do more and we must do better to help these women. As human beings we can do better to eliminate toxic masculinity and to educate our boys. We must show them that violence is never the solution.
Men must also have this conversation. I was glad to hear the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, say that there is nothing masculine or virile about lifting a hand against a woman. It is quite the opposite. It is sheer cowardice. The fact that a man, a premier, called out this problem is a good thing, but it does not solve everything. We need to keep repeating the message and driving it home to change the mentality.
I will come back to a concept I raised earlier. We use it more and more all the time, but we do not really know what it means.
Toxic masculinity is a concept that refers to the stereotypical image of a man, the well-known traditional stereotype that says a man must be socially dominant and virile, a synonym for insensitivity. Toxic masculinity is harmful not just to women, but also to men, who are drowning in contradictory messages.
According to the code of toxic masculinity, a man must not show emotion, cry, be afraid or break down. These gender stereotypes are sometimes instilled at school and can have serious consequences, like the ones we are seeing today.
How do we eliminate toxic masculinity? There are not many solutions. It starts with education, socialization and example setting. A boy who grows up with a violent father is highly likely to turn out the same way in spite of himself. Children who grow up in a violent setting are exposed to a type of learning where the traditional gender roles are deeply internalized. Not only do they sexualize the parental roles, but they ascribe powerlessness to the mother and strength, violence and power to the father. Unfortunately, it is a cycle. The child grows up with this association and develops toxic masculinity because they learn early on to associate certain behaviours with the sex of the individual.
The seven femicides over the past few weeks are a cruel reminder of the existence of physical violence, but violence comes in many forms, such as psychological, verbal, sexual and financial violence. These types of violence have serious consequences for women and their children.
Studies have shown that one of the main reasons women leave their violent partners is the knowledge that there is help for them and their children.
These resources exist, but they are in serious need of our help, of financial assistance from the federal government.
It is more important than ever for women to know that they are not alone if they decide to flee. They need to know that we will not fail them. Tonight's debate sends them a message, and it gives me hope to see men and women prepared to send the message and act.
I am not here to blame the government this evening. Sure, it should have done more, but we are all responsible in some way.
Violence against women is not a partisan issue. It is an issue that demands that we step up, join forces and work together, in spite of our differences of opinion on other issues. We owe it to all of these women who are suffering every day.
There are already a number of solutions on the table. We have talked about education, but what, specifically, can we do at this level of government to deal with this issue? Can we work on prevention? Can we support the organizations?
The pandemic has cut victims off from their social support systems and has isolated them, exacerbating the problem of domestic violence. We need to send a clear message to victims that they must not hesitate to call 911 and flee the situation. Even during curfew, the police are there to help victims. Where can they go? That is often a big fear. In Quebec, shelters are unfortunately underfunded, and the demand continues to grow.
A Radio-Canada article reported that the organization SOS Violence Conjugale has noticed a clear trend over the past three years. For a long time, the number of calls was stable, at around 25,000 per year. Over the past three years, it has risen, first to 29,000 and then to 33,000. This year it is around 40,000. There were 40,000 calls for help from women in Quebec. This increase in the number of calls for help comes at a time when there is a serious shortage of accommodation, whether it be emergency shelters, second-stage housing that takes in women after their stay in an emergency shelter, or affordable and safe housing for the future. In 30% of cases, SOS Violence Conjugale has to ask the person to call back later.
Despite the shortage of spaces, some organizations were recently refused the funding they need to run shelters or social housing projects. That is what happened to the Alliance des maisons d'hébergement de 2e étape pour femmes et enfants victimes de violence conjugale, or Alliance MH2, which submitted a project to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation as part of its federally funded rapid housing initiative. This project has been put on hold and is not considered a priority. There is no way to find out whether it will be a priority in the future. However, the situation is urgent. The refusal rate for housing applications at Alliance MH2 shelters in Montreal is 75%.
Unfortunately, many organizations that provide social housing for women have also had their projects put on hold. That is the case in Montérégie, the Eastern Townships and throughout Quebec. I am also thinking of women in regions like mine, in the Gaspé, where there are virtually no resources and everyone knows everyone else, so victims cannot see any way to report a violent spouse who is well liked by everyone outside the home. That situation is far from easy.
Fortunately, there are dedicated people in the region who are fighting for these women. I will take this opportunity to commend the work of the team at the L'Émergence and Mary Grace women's shelters in my riding. They help women who are victims of domestic violence and their children. These people have been fighting for years to ensure that women have access to a safe place where they can escape their abuser and provide a safe haven for their children.
For more than 30 years, these people have been working tirelessly to secure the necessary funding to ensure that the women in the Avignon RCM have shelter and housing, as well as high-quality counselling and support services. In fact, one project that just got off the ground is a thrift store whose purpose is to fund the organization but also help the women rejoin the workforce. It is an excellent initiative, but it proves that the financial needs are dire.
I am glad that the Government of Quebec says it is ready to invest more money and more resources if necessary, not just to help women, but also to provide more prevention and mental health resources to help men who have issues with violence and behavioural problems.
That is what we need, and the federal government needs to do its part too. It has to work with the Government of Quebec and the provincial and territorial governments to accelerate investment in shelters and transitional housing.
We have a lot of work to do, so let us get started.
