Wynne’s plan to combat sexual violence is bold and hopeful
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I wear tipi creepers.
How is that ON economy coming along to resolve the negative social issues unemployment brings?
How is that ON economy coming along to resolve the negative social issues unemployment brings?
It's Never OK but The Woman's Right To Choose is OK . I agree with protecting women from sexual violence but do I also have to agree with a woman's right to choose as a little baby is pulled out of a woman's womb piece by piece?
Kathleen Wynne’s bold plan will change the lives of thousands of women in Ontario: Porter
Could you imagine a better birthday present?
Sunday is International Women’s Day. To mark it, Premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled her government’s plan to end sexual violence and harassment.
It is bold. It is broad. It is so plain-speaking and nakedly honest, it made my teeth ache.
Could you imagine a premier who announced “sexual violence is rooted in misogyny which is deeply ingrained in our culture?”
Or one who defined “rape culture” and said we were living in one?
Or one who said, “make no mistake about it,” to discuss sexual assault of women, not terrorism?
“Sexual violence and harassment are shockingly high in our society,” she said Friday.
I thought my head might pop off from frenzied excitement as she spoke.
For women working with victims of sexual assault, Wynne’s words and financial promises are tonic after years of abusive neglect.
Barbara Schlifer Clinic counsellor Farrah Khan called Wynne’s speech a “feminist moment of her life.”
“I cried,” she wrote in an email.
Rape counsellor Cynamin Maxwell missed Friday’s announcement. She was packing up the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape office because the centre can no longer afford its rent. Its budget has gone up only $37,000 over the past 25 years.
“It’s about time,” she said.
It’s about time indeed.
For those of you non-believers, let me recap a few well-worn statistics: One in three women in Canada is sexually assaulted in her lifetime. At university, 15 to 25 per cent of female students experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career. For all of those assaults, only 3.3 per cent are reported to the police and only 0.3 per cent end with a conviction.
It’s an epidemic. Wynne is the first premier to clearly see it as such, and be brave enough to take it on.
Her Marshall Plan to combat sexual violence includes four planks: money for underfunded supports of victims; training for front-line responders to sexual assault such as police and mental health workers; a public education campaign to convince men it’s wrong to rape and convince witnesses to speak out against it; and new legislation to close loopholes in the current safety net for victims.
For instance, many rape victims don’t go to the police because they fear the spectacle of the criminal trial will be more damaging than the actual rape. They will be painted as irresponsible ****s who asked for it and their sexual histories will be dragged before the court as titillating evidence, even though Canada’s rape shield law is supposed to prevent that.
Wynne’s plan creates a program to provide victims their own free independent legal advice, and pushes the Law Society of Upper Canada and law schools to ensure Ontario lawyers follow the rape shield law.
Many women who are sexually harassed at work don’t do anything about it because they don’t know where to turn. Wynne’s government will include sexual harassment in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and create a swat team of inspectors to answer complaints from workplaces.
“This is going to help, big time,” says Pat Case, chair of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which received 1,173 calls last fiscal year about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Finally, a Star investigation last year revealed only nine of 102 Canadian universities and colleges had specific, separate policies to deal with sexual assault. Traumatized victims often found little support. Wynne is planning to change that. Not only will every Ontario secondary institution have a clear policy; they will be forced to publicly report the incidences of sexual violence on campus.
These are all first steps. But they are big ones. And they will change the lives of thousands of women in this province.
As Tess Klaver, who was sexually assaulted while a student at Queen’s University, told my colleague Emily Mathieu: “I am really proud of Kathleen Wynne.”
Last month, critics of Wynne’s new sexual education curriculum called her a “gay activist premier.” It proved exactly why we need schools to teach respect for others.
Many of the same conservatives will reject this plan. They’ll call her a “feminist premier,” and mean that, too, as a slight.
Again, they’ll prove why we need this Marshall Plan. Feminism is an ideology that fights for equality of the sexes. Equality means that women feel as safe and as protected from assault as men.
Wynne is a feminist premier, and that’s a wonderful thing.
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news...e-lives-of-thousands-of-women-in-ontario.html
Could you imagine a better birthday present?
Sunday is International Women’s Day. To mark it, Premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled her government’s plan to end sexual violence and harassment.
It is bold. It is broad. It is so plain-speaking and nakedly honest, it made my teeth ache.
Could you imagine a premier who announced “sexual violence is rooted in misogyny which is deeply ingrained in our culture?”
Or one who defined “rape culture” and said we were living in one?
Or one who said, “make no mistake about it,” to discuss sexual assault of women, not terrorism?
“Sexual violence and harassment are shockingly high in our society,” she said Friday.
I thought my head might pop off from frenzied excitement as she spoke.
For women working with victims of sexual assault, Wynne’s words and financial promises are tonic after years of abusive neglect.
Barbara Schlifer Clinic counsellor Farrah Khan called Wynne’s speech a “feminist moment of her life.”
“I cried,” she wrote in an email.
Rape counsellor Cynamin Maxwell missed Friday’s announcement. She was packing up the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape office because the centre can no longer afford its rent. Its budget has gone up only $37,000 over the past 25 years.
“It’s about time,” she said.
It’s about time indeed.
For those of you non-believers, let me recap a few well-worn statistics: One in three women in Canada is sexually assaulted in her lifetime. At university, 15 to 25 per cent of female students experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career. For all of those assaults, only 3.3 per cent are reported to the police and only 0.3 per cent end with a conviction.
It’s an epidemic. Wynne is the first premier to clearly see it as such, and be brave enough to take it on.
Her Marshall Plan to combat sexual violence includes four planks: money for underfunded supports of victims; training for front-line responders to sexual assault such as police and mental health workers; a public education campaign to convince men it’s wrong to rape and convince witnesses to speak out against it; and new legislation to close loopholes in the current safety net for victims.
For instance, many rape victims don’t go to the police because they fear the spectacle of the criminal trial will be more damaging than the actual rape. They will be painted as irresponsible ****s who asked for it and their sexual histories will be dragged before the court as titillating evidence, even though Canada’s rape shield law is supposed to prevent that.
Wynne’s plan creates a program to provide victims their own free independent legal advice, and pushes the Law Society of Upper Canada and law schools to ensure Ontario lawyers follow the rape shield law.
Many women who are sexually harassed at work don’t do anything about it because they don’t know where to turn. Wynne’s government will include sexual harassment in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and create a swat team of inspectors to answer complaints from workplaces.
“This is going to help, big time,” says Pat Case, chair of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which received 1,173 calls last fiscal year about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Finally, a Star investigation last year revealed only nine of 102 Canadian universities and colleges had specific, separate policies to deal with sexual assault. Traumatized victims often found little support. Wynne is planning to change that. Not only will every Ontario secondary institution have a clear policy; they will be forced to publicly report the incidences of sexual violence on campus.
These are all first steps. But they are big ones. And they will change the lives of thousands of women in this province.
As Tess Klaver, who was sexually assaulted while a student at Queen’s University, told my colleague Emily Mathieu: “I am really proud of Kathleen Wynne.”
Last month, critics of Wynne’s new sexual education curriculum called her a “gay activist premier.” It proved exactly why we need schools to teach respect for others.
Many of the same conservatives will reject this plan. They’ll call her a “feminist premier,” and mean that, too, as a slight.
Again, they’ll prove why we need this Marshall Plan. Feminism is an ideology that fights for equality of the sexes. Equality means that women feel as safe and as protected from assault as men.
Wynne is a feminist premier, and that’s a wonderful thing.
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news...e-lives-of-thousands-of-women-in-ontario.html
So, any man who disagrees with a female is a hating misogynist but lesbians who hate men are called feminists, ya sure. If you have a female flossie i am sure she is proud of you, if a male he must be thrilled.
Sudbury column: For a change, Wynne gets it right
Premier Kathleen Wynne announces her new sexual violence and harassment action plan on Thursday, March 5, 2015. Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
It's about time. It's about time we heard a premier in Canada talk so clearly and openly about sexual assault in this country. It's about time that a premier would say something like, "sexual violence is rooted in misogyny, which is deeply ingrained in our culture."
But I think it was when the premier said this -- "to the survivors of sexual violence and harassment of every part of this province: we see you, we acknowledge you, that what happened to you is wrong and we stand with you. As a woman, ending sexual violence is a cause I feel very strongly about and as a leader I know it is right to take this action for Ontario" -- I found myself thinking, finally, we have a premier who is a feminist.
Premier Kathleen Wynne last announced a new sexual assault package called It's Never Okay, which is a 35-page plan, costing $41 million over a span of three years. This plan will see stronger legislation in the workplace that will require employers to investigate all forms of harassment; it will eliminate the two-year statute of limitations on civil sexual assault claims and claims of sexual assault before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
There will be more money for training school staff, health care workers, the legal profession and police. There will be free legal advice for sexual assault survivors. Universities and colleges will be required to adopt a sexual assault policy and publicly report rates of sexual violence at their school. There will be increased funding and support for sexual assault centres, and updates to the province's new sexual education curriculum so students can learn about consent, respectful relationships and gender inequality through grades 1-12.
Do I think this is the answer to all the issues surrounding sexual assault? No. Do I think it is a huge step in the right direction? Yes. Will Wynne get flak over this? Oh, you bet.
The same people who gave her flak over the new sexual education curriculum will refer to her as that "feminist premier" with a sneer in their voice, like it's a bad thing. Like it is a bad thing to believe in equality between genders, or a bad thing to have children growing up knowing they have the same rights as anyone else.
For those of you who think this is unnecessary and there is no reason to spend this kind of money, let's look at why this is important. Let's remember that Statistics Canada reports one out of three women have experienced sexual assault in Canada, but only 10% of those report it and only 1% continues to trial.
According to the World Economic Global Gender Index, Canada has fallen from the top of the list to 19th when it comes to gender equality. Fifteen to 25% of female students in Canadian universities experience some form of sexual assault and only 3.3% are reported to police and only 0.3% ends with a conviction. These are just some of the reasons we need a comprehensive package like this and I applaud Wynne for bringing it forward.
Wynne has definitely made some wrong steps in her first mandate as premier, but this definitely isn't one of them. Let's hope that everyone recognizes the need for this package and puts the partisan rhetoric aside, just this once, for safety's sake.
Happy International Women's Day everyone.
-- Ruth Farquhar is a Manitoulin Island writer.
Sudbury column: For a change, Wynne gets it right | Sudbury Star
Premier Kathleen Wynne announces her new sexual violence and harassment action plan on Thursday, March 5, 2015. Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency
It's about time. It's about time we heard a premier in Canada talk so clearly and openly about sexual assault in this country. It's about time that a premier would say something like, "sexual violence is rooted in misogyny, which is deeply ingrained in our culture."
But I think it was when the premier said this -- "to the survivors of sexual violence and harassment of every part of this province: we see you, we acknowledge you, that what happened to you is wrong and we stand with you. As a woman, ending sexual violence is a cause I feel very strongly about and as a leader I know it is right to take this action for Ontario" -- I found myself thinking, finally, we have a premier who is a feminist.
Premier Kathleen Wynne last announced a new sexual assault package called It's Never Okay, which is a 35-page plan, costing $41 million over a span of three years. This plan will see stronger legislation in the workplace that will require employers to investigate all forms of harassment; it will eliminate the two-year statute of limitations on civil sexual assault claims and claims of sexual assault before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
There will be more money for training school staff, health care workers, the legal profession and police. There will be free legal advice for sexual assault survivors. Universities and colleges will be required to adopt a sexual assault policy and publicly report rates of sexual violence at their school. There will be increased funding and support for sexual assault centres, and updates to the province's new sexual education curriculum so students can learn about consent, respectful relationships and gender inequality through grades 1-12.
Do I think this is the answer to all the issues surrounding sexual assault? No. Do I think it is a huge step in the right direction? Yes. Will Wynne get flak over this? Oh, you bet.
The same people who gave her flak over the new sexual education curriculum will refer to her as that "feminist premier" with a sneer in their voice, like it's a bad thing. Like it is a bad thing to believe in equality between genders, or a bad thing to have children growing up knowing they have the same rights as anyone else.
For those of you who think this is unnecessary and there is no reason to spend this kind of money, let's look at why this is important. Let's remember that Statistics Canada reports one out of three women have experienced sexual assault in Canada, but only 10% of those report it and only 1% continues to trial.
According to the World Economic Global Gender Index, Canada has fallen from the top of the list to 19th when it comes to gender equality. Fifteen to 25% of female students in Canadian universities experience some form of sexual assault and only 3.3% are reported to police and only 0.3% ends with a conviction. These are just some of the reasons we need a comprehensive package like this and I applaud Wynne for bringing it forward.
Wynne has definitely made some wrong steps in her first mandate as premier, but this definitely isn't one of them. Let's hope that everyone recognizes the need for this package and puts the partisan rhetoric aside, just this once, for safety's sake.
Happy International Women's Day everyone.
-- Ruth Farquhar is a Manitoulin Island writer.
Sudbury column: For a change, Wynne gets it right | Sudbury Star
Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott, who pushed in December for the establishment of an all-party committee on sexual violence and harassment said she had hoped the issue could be tackled through non-partisan means, rather than Wynne's quickly unveiled plan, though she said she was glad the premier was addressing this issue.
New legislation aims to challenge social norms about sexual violence, Wynne says | CP24.com