OTTAWA – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, today called on all Canadians to join the worldwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, while highlighting government actions to address violence against women and girls in Québec.
"Our Government encourages Canadians to be more than bystanders and to take action to end violence against women and girls"
said Minister Ambrose. "That is why the Government of Canada is proud to support projects in Quebec and across Canada that help communities address this serious issue."
"Our Government is committed to ending violence against women and girls across Canada,"
said the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) and Member of Parliament for Mégantic-L'Érable, Québec. "That is why we are supporting grassroots projects that address new and emerging forms of violence, such as so-called honour-based violence, right here in Quebec."
Minister Ambrose highlighted an ongoing project with The Shield of Athena Family Services in Montreal. They are receiving $348,150 from the Government of Canada for a 36-month project, Contributing to the Prevention of Honour Crimes and Violence Committed against Women and Girls: Developing a Community Screening, Information and Training Strategy. The project will train community liaison workers to promote awareness in their communities, identify at-risk situations and refer potential victims for assistance.
"We are pleased to have the Government of Canada's support for our work to end violence against women and girls,"
said Mrs. Melpa Kamateros, Executive Director, Shield of Athena. "This awareness and prevention project will be linguistically and culturally attuned to the specific needs of communities and will define and address attitudes and practices that may harm women and girls in Canadian society."
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence commence on November 25, with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and conclude on December 10 with International Human Rights Day. The campaign also observes significant dates such as December 6, Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting projects that yield concrete results for women and girls in Canada while strengthening families, communities and the country. Through Status of Women Canada, the government's support for community-based projects has nearly doubled since 2006-2007, from $10.8 million to close to $19 million, its highest level ever. Since 2007, more than $54 million in funding has been approved for projects that seek to address violence against women and girls.
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