Ending Gender-Based Violence in Canada
December 6th, 1989
It has been over 30 years since a misogynistic cis-man murdered 14 women at École Polytechnique de Montréal (December 6, 1989). This act of such violent and blatant misogyny shook our country. It led Parliament to designate December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (informally known as White Ribbon Day).
This day (& every day) is about raising awareness for the global, prevalent, and deadly issue that is gender-based violence (GBV). It is also about remembering those who have been killed as a result of GBV.
GBV is a global public health and human rights issue, and we have a long way to go in Canada before we can live without fear of it. The work ahead requires that we be led by the voices and expertise of survivors of GBV, particularly survivors from systemically neglected communities. But let's be clear, GBV is a UNIVERSAL issue we are ALL accountable for.
What is Gender-Based Violence?
Gender-based violence is systemically rooted harmful actions directed at an individual or community based on their gender identity, gender expression, or perceived gender. It is rooted in patriarchy and tactics of power and control. It can play out in families, communities, interpersonally, at school & work, and in gov and institutional policies. But it absolutely does not occur in a vacuum, and it is never an "isolated incident." It is a direct result of historical and ongoing systemic inequity.
Women, girls, 2-spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse folks are those most impacted by GBV. But the patriarchy is also maintained & strengthened by yt supremacy, anti-Black racism, ableism, colonialism, and neoliberalism. This means folks who are Black, Indigenous, rural-living, disabled, im/migrants, refugees, sex working, or experiencing houselessness are more likely to experience violence in all forms, be murdered, and most notably: go unheard and missing.
Why does ending Gender Based Violence matter?
Approximately every 6 days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.
About 4 in 10 Indigenous women experience GBV before the age of 15, with higher rates of violence for LGBTQIA2S+ Indigenous folks.
Approximately 4.7 million women, 30% of all women 15 years of age and older, report that they have experienced sexual assault at least once since the age of 15
Trans folks living in Canada are more likely to experience violence since the age of 15, in public settings, online and at work, compared to cis-folks in Canada.
Disabled women are 3 times more likely to experience GBV than non-disabled women.
This is Canada.
Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, & 2 Spirit Folks
Indigenous women historically and disproportionately experience violent crimes rooted in sexism and racism. Rates of violence against Indigenous women are much higher than for non-Indigenous women in Canada, even when all other differentiating factors are accounted for.
This started with colonization. This violence escalated & manifested with residential & Day schools, forced sterilization, the enforcement of anti-trans values, the lasting legacies of intergenerational trauma, & oppression through policy.
The historic and ongoing colonization of Indigenous Peoples and lands continues to construct Indigenous women, two-spirit, & gender-diverse folks as exploitable & expendable.
This is, of course, reinforced by the media—which tells us about a white girl going missing in another country but ignores the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit folk.
It is reinforced by our governments and decision-makers who have yet to fully complete any of the 231 Calls for Justice in the MMIWG2S National Report.
Misogynoir
The term "Misogynoir' was coined by Black feminist Dr. Moya Bailey "to describe the particular brand of hatred directed at Black women." It is concerned with the intersecting ways anti-Black racism & patriarchy (misogyny) harms Black women and gender-diverse folks. This looks like the hyper-sexualization of Black folks, tone-policing, gaslighting, high levels of scrutiny, distrust, violence and criticism directed at Black women & gender-diverse folks, and the systemic silencing of Black truths.
You may have noticed that we didn't include any stats on Black folks and GBV on the stat slide. That's because we really couldn't find any (although there are now federal initiatives around data collection). Canada, like America, was built on enslaved labour - aka, our anti-Black racism runs deep, so the fact that Canada hasn't been recording this data in any official capacity is infuriating because that doesn't mean Black people aren't experiencing GBV; it just means we don't have the data that could support us in creating meaningful legislation to address it.
So yeah, we want to, NEED to, talk about Misogynoir.
The "shadow pandemic" within the pandemic
All of this violence we are talking about only worsened during COVID-19, hence the name "shadow pandemic."
Emerging data and reports from those on the front lines show that ALL types of violence directed at women, girls, and gender-diverse folks intensified during the pandemic. The number of women experiencing intimate partner violence specifically increased, with a 20-30% increase in some parts of Canada.
COVID restrictions made it more difficult for people experiencing violence to access essential services, support, and community. Quarantines and social isolation also meant that folks who were violent and those they harmed were in constant proximity. All of this occurred in addition to the increased pandemic stress associated with socio-economic issues (aka harmful, racialized, and neoliberal gov policies that only increased systemically generated vulnerability for folks).
Three Critical Considerations for Canada
Canada is meant to be a mosaic of diversity, and we'd love for that to include support systems in place for immigrants, refugees and migrants experiencing gender-based violence. Support systems that are - say it with us - culturally competent.
The vast majority of support services Canada has in place is to help people experiencing gender-based violence after the violence is experienced; what we need is preventative measures. We know that most gender-based violence is perpetrated by men - so what is being done to address that? Yesterday we shared a post on the internet's scariest thing right now: the manosphere - what legislation, coupled with public health and education campaigns, are decision-makers putting in place to address this?
Further, survivors of GBV experience trauma. The children in households that see and experience this violence experience trauma. People in Canada still do not have access to free mental health support despite 1 in 4 Canadians requiring it. Give us a chance to heal, be whole, and show up fully in spaces after experiencing trauma that isn't our fault. And it isn't just survivors that need mental health resources. It's everyone. For example, In our posts about the Manosphere & the rise of the lonely man, we talk about the need for access to mental health support. Where is that? It's fucked up that we're this wealthy as a country, and we don't cover mental health support.
Individual Action
Each individual action and step we take towards eradicating GBV is an impactful one. Never forget that.
Here are a couple of things you can do today:
Educate yourself (men, too—or really, especially) on Canada's violent legacy of GBV, specifically Canada's institutionalized anti-Black racism & colonialism
Wear a white ribbon to signify your solidarity, that you remember and cannot forget those whose lives have been taken
Help raise awareness for this day and GBV by sharing content across your social media platforms.
Use your voice to start conversations on GBV, to disrupt violence, & to generate equitable paths moving forward. Write to your elected officials at www.oncanadaproject.ca/findyourrep
Contribute your time, energy, thoughts, and money to survivor-led movements, organizations and collectives who are working to eradicate GBV, create compassionate spaces, and support survivors
What can we do systemically?
Write to your elected reps (all levels of government) and ask them to keep their performative "violence doesn't have a place in Canada" tweet in their drafts. Instead, ask them to enact meaningful change with the following:
We must address the universal, global, health, anti-Black, colonial and human rights issue that is GBV at all levels and constantly. This includes internally, interpersonally, within families, communities, schools, work, media, all other institutions and gov policies.
On a broad scale, Canada must:
Ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention C-190, making clear that everyone deserves to work in spaces free of violence - This requires the agreement of each province & territory
Implement the 231 Calls For Justice by the National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Folks
Financially and socially invest in survivor & community-led organizations already doing the work to prevent, respond to and eradicate GBV, including femicide, misogynoir, and colonial violence.
