November 13, 2017

Mobilization is needed to fight violence. We can gain inspiration from the many international examples available. The Status of Women Committee gave a presentation on the struggles and actions of several women from around the world. From Lebanon, to Rwanda to Iceland, women have come together to speak up about their own experiences. They got very creative in their actions: creating wedding dresses out of paper to protest against sex-offenders who could escape punishment by marrying their victim (Lebanon), creating new organizations to help women who have been victims of rape used as a weapon of war (Rwanda), ceasing to work at the exact time when their pay no longer matches that of their male colleagues (Iceland), etc.

And, closer to home, there’s the overwhelming outpouring of stories stemming from the #metoo movement, which began the week before the Network was held. In addition to the FIQ’s public support of the victims, we needed to mobilize around this issue! To do this, the Status of Women Committee proposed a declaration to the Women Network’s activists. The women in attendance supported it and so the next step is to present it to the delegation at the 2017 Convention.