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

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC, Nov. 14, 2012 /CNW/ - On behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, Dr. James Lunney, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo—Alberni, today announced funding to the Alberni Community and Women's Services Society 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.

"Our government remains committed to ending violence against women and girls," said MP James Lunney. "This promising new project will improve the safety and security of women in our campus community."

The Alberni Community and Women's Services Society is receiving $181,536 in funding to partner with the White Ribbon Campaign and North Island College on a student-led "Safer Campus" initiative focusing on gender-based violence on campus. The project is centered around three goals: to identify and address institutional barriers to advancing gender equality; to engage male students and faculty in campus strategy; and to create culturally appropriate collaborative mechanisms to address key concerns of Aboriginal members of our campus community

"Alberni Community and Women's Services Society is excited to receive funding for our project," said Ms. Gillian Trumper, Board Chair, Alberni Community Women's Services Society. "We look forward to partnering with North Island College staff and its students on this project, which will address barriers to safety for all women on campus."

"North Island College is pleased to partner with the Alberni Women's and Community Services Society (ACAWS) on this project," said Mr. Tom Weeger, Regional Director, Port Alberni and Alberni-Clayoquot Region, North Island College. "We hope to work directly with college students to identify and address systemic issues of safety and gender-based violence."

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.

---

Backgrounder

---

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; and
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
     Public Affairs
Status of Women Canada
613 995-7839

Ce texte est également disponible en français.

For news releases and information on Status of Women Canada, go to www.women.gc.ca