ROME – Today, on the margins of the 14th Global Health Security Initiative Ministerial Meeting, Canadian Minister of Health, Rona Ambrose, met with Dr. Mercedes Juan, Secretary of Health for Mexico, to discuss measures to address family violence in their respective countries.
With a significant history of cooperation between Canada and Mexico on a broad range of issues, both Minister Ambrose and Secretary Juan acknowledged their shared views on family violence as a public health issue, requiring collaboration across sectors to address the full spectrum of family violence.
"Our Government recognizes that family violence is a top public health priority. I am pleased to have met with my colleague, Secretary Juan, who has also made family violence a priority in her health mandate. We agree that family violence is an issue that affects individuals, families and communities in both our countries," said Minister Ambrose. "In addition to investments that we have already made in research on family violence, gender and health, our government is addressing family violence on a number of different fronts including prevention, response and partnerships."
“Mexico is using multi-sectoral collaboration to address the various aspects of family violence,” said Secretary Juan. “We discussed strengthening the approach of violence prevention policies and programmes, which will assist with addressing family violence.”
In Canada, the government’s Family Violence Initiative brings together 15 federal departments to ensure coordination of activities related to family violence including education, awareness, prevention and response.
