Status of Women committee  Is it to come forward specifically to report to the police? Is that what you're asking? Unfortunately, the continued failure to investigate and prosecute sexual assaults adequately reinforces women's reluctance to report, so it's almost a self-perpetuating system. I think we wou

Status of Women committee  Neither was the Canadian—

Status of Women committee  No.

Status of Women committee  The second thing I was trying to draw attention to was something that I mentioned that was affirmed by the largest ever global study into violence against women. It's that the independent women's movement and the mobilization of feminists worldwide has been hugely influential in

Status of Women committee  One thing I tried to point out in my presentation was that the law, largely thanks to the work of women and women's groups, actually is a pretty good law with regard to consent and what rape is. Unfortunately, the recommendation would be an acknowledgement that the vast majority

Status of Women committee  One thing we did very well in order to communicate to both the government and the general public about what exactly we do at sexual assault centres and what exactly we need, is we conducted a five-year action-based research project on the relationship between the equality promise

Status of Women committee  I think the most effective force for ensuring that the government meets its responsibility to prevent and eradicate sexual assault is the very existence of sexual assault centres. What we provide every day, 24 hours a day, and have consistently provided since the 1970s is indepen

Status of Women committee  First I would like to thank the committee for inviting the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres/L'Association canadienne des centres contre les agressions à caractère sexuel, which I'll refer to as CASAC, to present today. Founded in 1975, CASAC member centres continue

Justice committee  I will make a quick comment in English. I think for too long prostitution has been what's there to catch women in the absence of a social safety net. If we start to address and work to get rid of prostitution, we will necessarily have to confront all the inequality, all the thin

Justice committee  Obviously, in my written submission and my oral submission, I think we do have to do something. I think it's important not only for the women who are in prostitution either by choice or by force, but also for all women, that we do something about prostitution. We know, as my co

Justice committee  I 100% agree. I think it's a fantastic idea, especially in light of the fact that inequality and discrimination really play a part in who ends up with a criminal record. I think it's completely consistent with our equality-based arguments that this would be the case.

Justice committee  Good afternoon. I'd like to begin by acknowledging that we're gathered here today on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people. My name is Lisa Steacy. I'd like to thank the committee for inviting Mélanie and me to speak on behalf of the Canadian Association of Sexual A