TIOHTIÁ:KE (MONTREAL), QC, March 8, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - In response to the call for an International Women's Strike, the associations, unions and student groups that make up the Montreal Coalition for paid internships are organizing a demonstration to denounce the sexual violence and the exploitation of women at school and during their internships. Nearly 30 000 students and interns are striking in different CEGEPs and universities for the occasion.
The #MeToo movement of denunciations over these past months has revealed the widespread nature of the sexual violence that women face all over the world. In the context of Quebec's training programs, a research report by ESSIMU has shown the current incapacity for institutional mechanisms, committees and awareness campaigns to prevent situations of aggression. 36.9% of university students reported that they had experienced a form of sexual violence, a third of which occurred in the context of a hierarchical relationship. Because students are not recognized as workers, they find themselves without a balance of power when confronted with their academic institutions and the mechanisms meant to deal with sexual violence.
The increasingly generalized trend of hiring unpaid interns from predominantly female fields of study has worsened the vulnerability of women students. The absence of pay and recognition for students' work makes them even more vulnerable to violence. In solidarity with the call for an international women's strike, striking students are protesting so that women students and interns may have greater control over their living conditions: "I am on strike like thousands of other women around the world to demand an end to unpaid work and to exploitation!", adds Francoise Hasty, student midwife. In Montreal, several hundred people are expected at 3PM for a demonstration against sexual violence.
The protest is part of a larger movement of solidarity and struggle against the work that goes unpaid by employers. The Montreal Coalition for paid internships was created this summer by associations, unions and student groups, with the goal of obtaining a full salary and suitable working conditions for all students during their internships within any academic field.
SOURCE Coalition montréalaise pour la rémunération des stages
And interview requests: Telephone: Kaella Stapels, (514)-316-8843; Françoise Hasty, (581)-777-3879; E-mail: [email protected]
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