Tomorrow I will celebrate. But forgive me if for today I feel the need once more to point out how far we still have to go if we are truly to achieve gender equality. Because gender equality isn’t just about getting the right to vote, to get a job or to attend school, it’s should also be about keeping women and girls safe.
Of course men and boys need protection from violence too. We need to keep everyone safe, no matter their gender, age, race, vocation, etc. But sadly, it is women and girls who are disproportionately the victims of domestic, sexual, and gender based violence.
For example, in 2007-2008 in Ottawa, of the 2,440 domestic violence occurrences police responded to in which charges were laid or warrants sought, 89% of the charges were against men. In that same year, the Ottawa Police Victim Crisis Unit handled approximately 1,579 occurrences of men against women partner assault.
Again, 2007-2008, women between the ages of 26 and 35 were the largest group of women accessing shelters in Ottawa – shelters which provided safe housing for 544 women and 444 children in 2007, yet which had to turn away 3,281 women. In other words, for every one woman serviced by an Ottawa shelter, an average of six women are turned away.
These are just some statistics from here in Ottawa. I’m quite sure I would find similar grim statistics in other cities across the country.
I don’t need to lecture about the seriousness or pervasiveness of gender based violence – or point out that it is in no way limited to domestic and partner abuse. But it’s hard not to rant when I think about the women and children who are turned away each day from shelters, forced to go back to abusive situations because they have nowhere else to turn. Makes me think about how much we are failing as a society. How vastly we are neglecting to protect the most vulnerable among us.
I risk much treading here, however: categorizing the problem as being "violence against women" ignores the fact that violence rates against men are equal, or slightly higher than against women. Within those two groupings are major differences (men tend to get assaulted by strangers, women by someone they know), but both groups are equally likely to be victims.
ReplyDeleteA boring chart, attached to an interesting main article:
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/2010024/ct001-eng.htm
Of course, men are by far more likely to be the perpetrators of violence, but on the victim side of the equation, we are failing both groups equally. Consider this not my attempt to minimize violence against women, but more an attempt to raise the profile of violence against people.
Very good point. thanks!
ReplyDelete