Platform of Demands
Women’s Centres are also Engaged
in the Struggle to End Violence
Women’s Centres are also Engaged
in the Struggle to End Violence
Background
Over the years, women’s centres have developed special expertise around women’s issues. The cornerstone of their expertise is unarguably a multipronged approach driven by an intersectional feminist perspective that puts women at the centre of any form of intervention. It respects both their pace and their choices and sees women as experts on their lived experience. This flexible, multifaceted approach is focused on supporting women’s journeys towards autonomy and self-empowerment and often offers women support and resources before they find themselves confronted with the complex and multidimensional realities of violence. This preparedness approach puts a big emphasis on raising awareness about the many ways violence can manifest itself and on how everyday violence is often downplayed. It also calls out the systemic ways women are confronted with violence. Women’s centres actively engage in being there for women experiencing all types of violence. Their work is an integral and complementary part of the work of other actors working in this field.
Our Demands
Whereas there is still much work to be done to end all types of gender-based violence;
Whereas women’s centres engage with the broad spectrum of violence and, as such, all forms of violence women may experience;
Whereas violence against women goes beyond just domestic, conjugal, and sexual violence;
Whereas the violence with which women are confronted is systemic;
Whereas the various manifestations and experiences of violence that women face vary based on the system of oppression at play in their lives;
Whereas institutions and public services replicate forms of violence against women and thereby uphold and reinforce existing systems of oppressions and ultimately impede service accessibility;
Whereas these forms of violence have negative repercussions on all women and particularly women subject to more than one system of oppression (such as Indigenous women, racialized women, immigrant women, LGBTQ+ individuals, women with disabilities, unhoused women, etc.);
Whereas women’s centres play an instrumental role in the struggle to end violence against women and whereas their actions can help stir real social change;
Systems of Oppression
Social inequalities are rooted in systems of oppressions, that is to say that they are created by them. These systems reflect the different power dynamics around which society is organized. These various systems act on women’s lives all at once, indivisibly so, and generate a complex matrix of violence.
Patriarchy
System of values, rules, norms, practices, and politics founded on the belief that women are, by nature, “less than” men. This belief system gives way to such things as the sexual division of labour and power dynamics based on gender roles. Patriarchal norms exist and vary, both in type and magnitude, across all societies.
Classism
Discrimination of any kind based on social class, where those belonging to an elite, richer, better educated social class enjoy more power and credibility and are considered “better than” those who are less educated and less wealthy.
Heterosexism
System where the man-woman pair bond (both sexual and affectionate) is the established social norm, and where any other form of pair bond is considered abnormal. Gives rise to discrimination and prejudice against those who are bisexual or homosexual.
Cisgenderism
System where gender identity is always a function of gender assigned at birth and where transgender individuals are “less than” cisgender individuals (cisgender individuals identify with the gender they were assigned as birth and with the gender identity society assigns it).
Ageism
Discrimination based on age which manifests as harmful attitudes and behaviours that lead to the social exclusion of the elderly. Ageism is the reflection of two different constructs: commonly held negative stereotypes about aging and about the elderly, and a social organization primarily centred on citizens being young leading to a certain disregard for the real needs of elderly individuals. Seeing a woman as “less than” simply due to her age constitutes ageism. This form of discrimination is unique in that ultimately everyone ages and becomes subject to it.
Ableism
System centred on an individual’s level of ability which excludes and marginalizes those with motor and cognitive limitations or disabilities and sees them as “less than.” Much like ageism, this form of discrimination can ultimately impact anyone developing any loss of physical or cognitive ability.
Weight Stigma
System rooted in society’s cult of beauty that sees lean body types as the ideal, which feeds negative stereotypes, prejudice, attitudes, and behaviours that stigmatize those whose body weight is not considered ideal. Institutional weight stigma is rooted in the fact that society is not inclusive of all body types, as seen in standard clothing sizes and seating in public spaces (such as public transportation, show halls, and classrooms). Hinders accessibility both in terms of services and leisure activities for individuals of large size.
Racism
System making the race of the dominant group the norm and where different groups of individuals are seen as “less than” based on not being part of this dominant group. Racism goes beyond conscious and individual attitudes and behaviours; it is also reflected in our institutional structures and socialization practices. Systemic racism is the term used to distinguish these structural forms of discrimination (wage gaps, life expectancy, segregation, etc.) from the more commonly understood form of racism rooted in individual attitudes and behaviours (prejudice, insults, acts of violence, etc.).
Colonialism
System reflecting the consequences of oppressing, eliminating, assimilating, and displacing Indigenous Peoples whose existence was seen as a hindrance. White supremacy continues to exist by having replaced Indigenous political and economic systems by new, non-Indigenous ones. As such, colonialism is a form of systemic racism.
Areas of Demands
L’R’s women’s centre members hereby demand that their work surrounding systemic violence against women be recognized in the four following ways.
