Inequality at root of violence against women
Basil "Buzz" Hargrove
National Post
6 Dec 04

Fifteen years ago today, one man killed 14 women at a Montreal university for no other reason than he thought they were feminists. They were engineering students.

In the years since, hundreds of women in Canada have been murdered by their partner or ex-partner. Thousands more women have been beaten, raped, sexually assaulted, harassed and controlled -- emotionally, sexually and economically.

Violence against women continues year-in and year-out with hardly a breath of attention from the country's decision-makers, with the exception of this day, the anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

In fact, our decision-makers, our governments, have become part of the problem. And it is not just a matter of inaction. It is the deliberate actions by all levels of governments to cut the services on which women and their children depend, trapping women in a cycle of violence and abuse.

We know that violence against women persists as a result of women's economic, social and political inequality.

This is where violence has its roots. And if we are ever to stop violence against women, we must address the things that contribute to women's inequality such as inadequate wages. Most work by women is still underpaid or unpaid.

We cannot eradicate violence against women merely by marking this anniversary.

That is why the CAW has been involved for many years in a campaign to end violence against women. It started out as a campaign to break the silence around violence and to give women a safe place to talk so they didn't feel isolated. It has evolved into a campaign that includes bargaining for women's advocates and anti-harassment training in our workplaces, lobbying governments, and major donations to women's shelters across the country. We have given ending violence in our workplaces and in our communities a priority. But it is not enough.

It will never be enough, until governments make this, one of our society's greatest tragedies, a national priority. As much as unions do, we can not eliminate violence against women at the bargaining table. But we can, through organizing, collective bargaining and lobbying, build the conditions for change.

We are hopeful that our efforts along with the efforts of other unions and women's equality organizations -- which this year included a national postcard campaign entitled "15 Days, 15 Ways to End Violence Against Women" -- will impress upon our governments, especially our Prime Minister, the urgency of this issue as well as some solutions.

The women of our country deserve to live in safety and security and they deserve governments to act on their behalf. It is their right.

Eradicating violence against women lies in a systematic plan that includes well-funded support and counselling services for women; it includes a justice system that champions their rights rather than turning them once again into victims; it includes access to the things a woman may need to get her life back so she can raise and support her children such as affordable housing, and training; it means adequate minimum wages and a national child care program; it means access to unemployment benefits and decent pensions, and it means a national campaign aimed at ending violence against women.

Many of these solutions will also help eliminate child poverty in our country.

Like most things in our society, this too is about political will. Governments can make this a priority. Instead, in the past number of years, our federal government took the unbalanced approach of bestowing about $100-billion in tax cuts onto the mostly wealthy Canadians. This is the kind of charity Canada does not need. What Canada needs is an agenda of social justice.

The federal government could have, instead, used some of that money to invest in anti-violence programs, or in a national child care program, or in affordable housing and there would have still been billions left over to hand out in tax cuts, if they so wished.

There is little doubt that the lives of women and children in our country would have been better had the government taken a more balanced approach. Canada would have been better off for it and we would have begun the process of restoring the caring and sharing values that Canadians say connect us all.

Most readers of this article will know of a woman who has been a victim of violence. Women who are victims of violence are not strangers. They are our mothers, our sisters, our neighbours, our daughters.

Too often we hear the question: "Why doesn't she just leave?" More importantly we should be asking: "Why does he think he can hit her or belittle her?" And just as important: "What does she need in order to leave?"

I believe we are breaking the silence around violence and men have been helping in this regard. The White Ribbon Campaign is one such example of how men have lent their support. My hope is that we start putting in place the foundation to end violence -- including the conditions for women's equality.

A good place to start might be with respect.