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Campaign focuses on violence against women |
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Written by Jeff Wiebe
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Tuesday, November 25 2008, 10:57 PM |
Kristine Cassie is hoping a little red rose will go a long way.
Cassie, CEO of the Lethbridge YWCA, helped launch the organization’s national Rose Button campaign to end domestic violence on Tuesday. As part of the campaign, the YWCA is encouraging Canadians to email their MPs a virtual rose on Dec. 6 — the 19th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, in which gunman Marc Lepine shot and killed 14 women. Cassie hopes the effort will spur federal politicians to take solid action to stop violence against women.
“It’s about taking steps to affect social change,” she said.
“We need to be in the face of people and make them hear our message consistently.”
In outlining the extent of the problem, the YWCA quoted federal government statistics estimating the medical costs of violence against women at $1.1 billion a year, plus $4 billion annually for criminal justice, social services and lost productivity. It says governments can help women establish independent, violence-free households by ensuring they can find jobs, affordable child care, safe and affordable housing, and have adequate financial support.
In Lethbridge, YWCA Harbour House sheltered 639 women and children last year, but was still forced to turn away 1,399 because its facilities were too full.
“So many things happen that we have to make people aware of,” said Cassie.
“This is in our face every day.”
The campaign encourages people to speak up against violence in their communities, encourage perpetrators to get help, teach girls to protect themselves and raise children who can resolve conflict without violence.
“If it’s not happening to someone personally, they may not get involved, but we need to get involved,” said Cassie, adding that unfortunately, violence against women doesn’t always get the attention it deserves.
“It’s easily discounted, easily disregarded.”
According to the YWCA, more than 31,000 incidents of spousal violence against women were reported to police in Canada in 2006. It’s estimated more than 70 per cent of incidents go unreported.
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Last Updated ( Monday, August 10 2009, 2:36 PM )
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