Mr. Speaker, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, I am thinking about all the women suffering from abuse I met during my journalism career and all the families I got to know covering criminal cases caused by femicide.
Gender-based violence does not stop at physical harm. It includes psychological and economic manipulation, which also have devastating effects that perpetuate cycles of violence and endure for generations. All of us have a responsibility to reflect on this, particularly men and boys.
We heard this recently at a status of women committee hearing. Attitudes and behaviours that objectify and belittle women create a culture of violence. Hashtags like “men going their own way”, used by the Leader of the Opposition in his videos, further entrench violent attitudes in our society.
These are not new issues, but for the first time we have a government actually doing something about them with a national action plan to end gender-based violence. It is not everything we have to do, but it is a strong start, and on this side of the House we will not relent until every woman is safe.