How Much are Women’s Lives Worth? CFUW Dismayed Over Election Proposal to Scrap Gun Registry

OTTAWA, April 20, 2011 – The Canadian Federation of University Women(CFUW) believes that gun control is an important measure to help prevent public violence and in particular, violence against women. Most firearm-related deaths in Canada are caused by rifles or shotguns. These are the guns most used in domestic violence.
The Gun Registry has helped reduce this type of domestic violence and spousal homicide. The number of women murdered with firearms has decreased by 70% since controls on all firearms were first introduced. Women’s groups and front line shelter workers maintain that the interests of all women, rural and urban, are not being served by abolishing the gun registry.
While it has been estimated that the cost to abolish the long gun registry would save between $1.5 and $4 million per year, these costs are dwarfed by those monies incurred as a result of firearm death and injury (estimated at $6.6 billion per year in 1995).
“It would be a backwards step to collapse the gun registry. In fact, we need to be working towards a national strategy that ends violence against women.” said Brenda Wallace, National President of CFUW.

For further information: Robin Jackson, Executive Director cfuwed@rogers.com, 613-234-8252 ext. 102

Founded in 1919, CFUW is a non-partisan, equality-seeking, self-funded organization of close to 10,000 women graduates and students in 112 Clubs across Canada. For more information, see http://www.cfuw.org
The Right to Speak, The Responsibility to Act Le droit de parole – le devoir d”agir

Online Petition

Check out this petition against the release of Kayne West’s new music video featuring graphic images of violence against women.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/prevent-official-release-of-kanye-wests-women-hating-monster-video/

December 6th, Day for Remembrance and Action

The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) remembers the 14 lives lost twenty one years ago today.  We mark December 6^th each year to remember the young women who were gunned down through senseless violence. We also mark December 6^th as a call to action to end violence against women. Canada must not isolate the actions of one deranged individual – it needs to take action on all the factors present in our society that keep women from enjoying the safety and equality of men.

We still live in a country where persistent wage gaps tell women their work is not of equal value to men, where women continue to do two thirds of unpaid work and bear the brunt of poverty. Twenty one years later we are still fighting for our concerns to be taken seriously. As the Government defunds women’s groups who demand women’s equality, December 6 acts as a reminder to revive our commitment to gender equality.

In 2010, women experience domestic abuse, sexual assault on university campuses and the murder and disappearance of more than 600 aboriginal women. To break cycles of poverty and abuse that limit women’s lives, CFUW calls for action to end violence and inequality. Affordable housing, universal childcare, accessible post-secondary education and greater economic equality break down barriers to women’s equality.  This December 6^th we remember the lives of the 14 young women who were senselessly murdered at Ecole Polytechnique because they were women. This December 6^th we go forward to fight against the inequality and ideas that created the violence twenty one years ago – and the violence that continues to take place against women every day.

Women’s Rights at the Crossroads

Hosted by: Sudan Inter-Agency Reference Group and Inter Pares
Attended by: Robin Jackson, Executive Director and Sam Spady, Advocacy Coordinator, on behalf of CFUW

Two Sudanese Women’s Rights Activists spoke about the challenges of civil society in Sudan, and their commitment to continue working with Sudanese women from the North and South through the upcoming referendum.

Sudan, which has endured over fifty years of intermittent civil wars, will come to an important crossroads this January. As a part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005, Southern Sudan will vote in a January, 2011 referendum to decide if they should become an independent state.

The Sudanese activists, Fahima A. Hashim, Director of the Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre and Zaynab Elsawi, Program Coordinator for the Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP) shared how their organizations have been working to build trust and consensus between Northern and Southern women’s groups and have been able to work together to address the repression they collectively face under the al-Bahsir regime.

Although Hashim and Elsawi were not cynical they were not hopeful for the situation in North Sudan following the referendum. While power imbalances and customary laws in the South work against women’s equality, Southern women’s rights are guaranteed in their constitution, and have been able to participate in negotiations. Women in the North do not have this legal tool to use in their efforts, which poses a more difficult situation.

Hashim and Elsawi work focuses on capacity building for women leaders and to advocate for changes to Sudanese laws. One legal area where they have made progress is rape law.  Confronted with the dire situation in Darfur, they worked to compile information on the sexual violence taking place in the Western region of Sudan, and bring clarity to the laws dealing with rape.

Their goal for the presentation was to raise awareness of both the situation for women created by the al-Bashir regime, and to show that there is a continuum of resistance from Sudanese women who are organizing and working to fight for their rights.

The discussion was both worrying and inspiring.  Northern and Southern Sudanese women, who have witnessed decades of civil war and conflict, have been able to build solidarity and a strong network to fight for equality and peace. In the face of a repressive government and violence they have continued their work bravely and patiently. There is a lot we can learn here in Canada from their commitment, strength and tenacity.

The Registry Lives to Fight Another Day

CFUW was present at last night’s historic vote. After months of hard work, the registry was saved… for now.  This victory, while we can savor it for the time being, is bitter sweet.  After the vote the Prime Minister vowed to continue the campaign to end the long gun registry.  This means that while we have won the battle, the war is far from over.

The contempt shown for a tool that has helped save hundreds of women’s lives cannot be tolerated. We need to work harder than ever to protect the registry and gun control in this country; we must speak out for those who are silenced by fear, intimidation and firearms.

Our Prime Minister’s promise to get rid of the gun registry underlines his lack of respect for our democratic processes. CFUW, as an organization with a founding purpose to increase the status and safety of women, cannot sit on the sidelines. We will work with our partners in civil society, in the labour movement, the Ad Hoc Coalition and with groups across the country to ensure these issues do not fade.

Thank you to CFUW members across the country for your hard work and commitment to making Canada a more equal society.  You can feel proud in knowing that we stood up to a divisive, bullying government and won. Keep fighting; the issues are too important to lose.

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For more information please contact:

Sam Spady, cfuwadvocacy@rogers.com

Call to (Register) Arms!

The effort to save the gun registry continues.

The CFUW is launching a new campaign, “Call to (Register) Arms”. Members are encouraged to call their MP and continue to highlight how important the gun registry is to public safety!

To find how your MP voted on Bill C-391 click here.

Is your MP one of the opposition members to vote for this bill? Click here to find phone numbers, scripts and talking points to make your call easier!

Budget 2010 – Leaving Women Out

Budget Leaves Women Out

Canadian Federation of University Women

OTTAWA, March 4, 2010 – “Thursday’s budget offers very little support for women.  In fact it has really left women behind,” says Susan Russell, Executive Director of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW). Ms. Russell concluded, “On the issues that would lift women out of economic recession and poverty this budget is shamefully silent.”

The budget, which has been described as satisfactory by the business community can only be given a failing grade by women because it fails to consider the gender bias inherent in the stimulus spending. This bias was revealed in a study conducted by Queen’s Professor, Kathleen Lahey this week.  The study showed that women have only received about 7 to 22 per cent of federal infrastructure spending, as the spending has been focused in physical infrastructure projects where women are underrepresented in employment. Increased spending in social infrastructure and mandated employment equity in projects funded by the stimulus would begin to reverse this bias. Canada cannot begin to recover economically if half of its population is left behind.

Much-needed childcare spaces were not included in the budget. While increasing the child tax benefit for single parents may help some families, many women find it difficult to access quality childcare and when they do, it is a serious financial burden that limits their ability to participate in the workforce. The government has again missed out on an opportunity to provide economic stimulus though providing the social infrastructure of childcare that would benefit and employ women across the country.

The additional funding for ending violence against Aboriginal Women must be allocated to the Sisters in Spirit Initiative.  The CFUW calls on the government to allocate this funding to the Sisters in Spirit immediately.

Finance Minister Flaherty predicted that his budget would create a, “… a Canada in which our children and grandchildren will surpass us.” Yet without a strategy to end the poverty experienced by almost 1 child in 6 in Canada this will not happen. Without spending in key areas like childcare and a national housing strategy, women’s economic inequality will continue. This budget has failed to invest in women and to take on the work of building a prosperous and inclusive future for all Canadians.

CFUW is a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded, non-governmental organization of about 10,000 women university graduates in 118 Clubs across Canada.  CFUW works to improve the status of women and girls, education, peace, and human rights.  CFUW holds special consultative status at the United Nations and serves on the Sectoral Committee on Education of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.  CFUW is the largest of 79 national affiliates of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW).

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Contact: Susan Russell, Executive Director, Canadian Federation of University Women

613 234 8252