F.5.b.iii.1. Canada

Webcast sponsored by the Iving K. Barber Learning Centre and hosted by alumni UBC with Equity and Inclusion. #MeToo. #IWill. Awareness is important, but how do we move beyond hashtags and words to making real change for women in the workplace? New accusations of harassment keep coming to the fore – from Hollywood to Wall Street to Commercial Drive. In response, thousands of women have posted “#MeToo” on social media. Men have since responded with #IWill, signaling their individual commitment to take action in order to prevent harassment in their midst. But what next? How do we go beyond awareness to actual – and more permanent – change? This video includes a panel discussion that examines this issue and explore options for moving forward.

Exposes the widespread phenomenon of Canadian universities censoring students who want to denounce episodes of sexual harassment. The article includes the report by OurTurn – a national, student-led action plan that aims to implement strategies to end sexual violence on campus, and sets out the policies survivors have to follow while filing a complaint. The National Our Turn Action Plan provides guidelines for student unions and groups to: prevent sexual violence and eliminate rape culture on Canadian campuses; support survivors and create a culture of survivor-centrism at Canadian institutions; and campaign for policy and legislative reforms at the campus, provincial and national levels.

Hashtags such as #timesup and #metoo illustrate the growing international concerns about the sexual violation of women. The media plays a large role in promoting negative racial and gender ideologies about Indigenous women. In Canada, where there is a national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW), researchers have collected data from social media and identified how degrading texts about Indigenous women perpetuate a racialized violent discourse. Many Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous youth, have smart phones and/or other ways to access social media, so they too are exposed to the discourse that subjugates, vilifies and dehumanizes Indigenous women, many of whom are family or community members. The authors’ research investigates the messages shared through the hashtag ‘#MMIW’ and identifies a reframing by hashtag users. The results indicate how social media play a role in perpetuating stereotypes about Indigenous peoples, but also how they can be used to combat those messages.

Criticises the law that entered into force at the end of 2018 – Bill C-51 – that is intended to counter-act under-reporting and “ensure that victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence are treated with the utmost compassion and respect.” However, the authors argue, there is nothing in the law to protect against judicial misapplication or inappropriate methods of defence in court.

One hundred years after some Canadian women were given the federal franchise, women remain significantly underrepresented in every legislature across Canada. Indigenous women, women from racial minorities, and young women face particular problems, which reduce representation even further. While barriers to participation are broad and pervasive, sexual harassment and violence against women in politics - whether in the form of direct threats, implied threats, violent symbolic images, and physical violence - play a significant role in limiting women’s political participation. This report presents non-partisan, evidence-based research on how governments, legislatures, civil society, and non-governmental organizations have addressed the problem of violence against women in politics both within and beyond Canada. The report draws on extensive Canadian and global research and also a number of interviews with current and former women politicians from across the political spectrum, who have bravely spoken out about their experiences of sexual harassment and violence in Canadian politics.