Government of Canada Takes Action to End Violence against Women and Girls on University and College Campuses

MONCTON, NB, Nov. 14, 2012 /CNW/ - On behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, Mr. Robert Goguen, Member of Parliament for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, today announced funding to the Collectivité ingénieuse de la Péninsule acadienne Inc. to engage young people in addressing violence against women on university and college campuses. Parliamentarians throughout Canada joined Minister Ambrose in announcing their projects locally.

"Our Government is taking action to address violence against women on university and college campuses across Canada." said Minister Ambrose. "We are pleased to support projects that will help make university and college communities safer for everyone."

The Government of Canada is providing 21 organizations with close to $4 million to carry out projects that tackle a wide range of issues related to violence against female students, such as sexual assault and harassment. Organizations will work with college and university campus communities to carry out their projects.

"I am proud to be part of a government that acts on its commitment to end violence against women," said MP Goguen. "With the support of the Government of Canada, the project being announced today will empower young people - women and men - to work together to make our community a safe place to live and learn."

The Collectivité ingénieuse de la Péninsule acadienne Inc. is receiving $199,842 in funding for a project targeting students at three official-language minority community campuses in New Brunswick. It will use new technologies to develop solutions to violence. Those tools will be widely shared among the student associations.

"We are pleased that Status of Women Canada is supporting our project, UniVersElles, which offers ingenious solutions to meet the challenges of women who experience gender-based violence on campuses in rural and remote areas and official-language minority communities," said Murielle Gallien, president of the Collectivité ingénieuse de la Péninsule acadienne (CIPA) inc.

"CIPA's Espace UniVersElles project is in line with efforts made by the University to improve the situation of women on and off campus in Shippagan," said Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, vice-president, University of Moncton - Shippagan campus. "We are convinced that this innovative model for preventing and reducing violence against women will not only produce results but can also be applied in different settings in our community."

"The Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick is happy to take part in the CIPA project, through the student associations on its campuses and the student federation," said Liane Roy, the college's CEO. "Designing and distributing strategic solutions and tools will help to make people more aware of the issue of violence against women and ways of preventing gender-based violence in post-secondary institutions."

"I am delighted to see that student associations of the Acadian Peninsula and Dieppe campuses are taking an interest in this project, which will help to ensure that our campuses remain safe and welcoming environments," said Pierre Lebel, president of the Fédération étudiante du CCNB.

The Government of Canada is committed to supporting projects that yield concrete results for women and girls in Canada while strengthening families, communities and the country. Through Status of Women Canada, the government's support for community-based projects has nearly doubled since 2006-2007, from $10.8 million to close to $19 million, its highest level ever. Since 2007, more than $54 million in federal funding has been approved for projects that seek to address violence against women and girls.

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Backgrounder  

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Organizations receiving funding under the call for proposals - Engaging Young People to Prevent Violence against Women on Post-Secondary Campuses:

Corner Brook Status of Women Council (CBSWC), Corner Brook, NL;
Mount Allison Students' Union, Sackville, NB;
Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre, Inc. (FSACC), Fredericton NB;
Collectivité ingénieuse de la Péninsule acadienne Inc., Paquetville, NB;
Antigonish Women's Resource Centre and Sexual Assault Services Association, Antigonish, NS;
Association chrétienne des jeunes femmes de Montréal (Y des femmes/YWCA Montréal), Montréal, QC;
La Pointe du jour CALACS Sept-Îles, Sept-Îles, QC;
Interim Place, Mississauga, ON;
Ottawa Coalition to End Violence against Women, Ottawa, ON;
Scarborough Women's Centre, Scarborough, ON;
Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area (SACHA), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON;
Urban Alliance on Race Relations, Toronto, ON;
Yellow Brick House, Richmond Hill, ON;
Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, Kitchener, ON;
Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta, Edmonton, AB;
Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton, Edmonton, AB;
University of Alberta, Student's Union, Edmonton, AB;
YWCA Lethbridge and District, Lethbridge, AB;
Alberni Community and Women's Services Society, Port Alberni, BC;
MOSAIC (Multilingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities), Vancouver, BC;
Royal Roads University Student Association, Victoria, BC.

These organizations will work with college and/or university campuses in their communities.

SOURCE: Status of Women Canada

Amber Irwin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and
Minister for Status of Women
819 997-5421

Nanci-Jean Waugh
Director General, Communications and Strategic Planning
Status of Women Canada
613 995-7839

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