Ontario is committed to ending all forms of violence against anyone based on their gender, gender expression or gender identity. Investments as part of It's Never Okay: Ontario's Gender-Based Violence Strategy will help survivors and families get the support they need, when and where they need it—while helping to prevent violence by intervening early.
This guide explains what every worker, supervisor, employer and constructor needs to know about workplace violence and workplace harassment requirements in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It describes everyone's rights and responsibilities, and answers in plain language the questions that are most commonly asked about these requirements.
LEAF seeks a legal approach that addresses the equality rights of women both as accused persons and complainants in HIV non-disclosure cases and protects women's equality rights in the law of sexual offences more generally.
The following summarizes LEAF's position, which we explain further below:
- HIV non-disclosure should not be treated as a sexual offence.
- Where HIV non-disclosure results in actual transmission of the virus, prosecution may be appropriate under non-sexual Criminal Code offences, ensuring that those who contract HIV from irresponsible partners receive protection from the criminal law.
- However, even where transmission takes place, prosecutorial guidelines should ensure that HIV positive women who are victims of violence, coercion or sexual assault are not prosecuted for their failure to disclose their HIV status when that failure is itself a product of the violence or threats of violence committed against them.
- The law of sexual assault is intended to promote women's equality. As explained below, this requires affirming the broad scope of consent in sexual assault law and ensuring that the approach to fraud in the context of sexual assault prioritizes and protects women's bodily and sexual autonomy.
We the Jury, on behalf of the citizens of Ontario, wish to express our sincere condolences to the families of Arlene May and Randy Iles. The effects that this tragedy has had on their families is well understood and has been held in high priority during this inquest.
As we approach the millennium we are faced with the reality of the violence occurring to women and children in our society. Until we as a country stand up and declare a 'Zero Tolerance', this problem will not only continue, but in this jury's opinion, will escalate.
It is our belief that every person has an equal right to be protected from abuse. A combined effort must be made by our Government and Communities in order to put an end to family violence. The myths attached to family violence must be dispelled. Domestic violence is a Criminal Offence and must never be viewed as a 'private matter'.
The General Assembly, Recognizing the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of all human beings, Noting that those rights and principles are enshrined in international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Violence in the lives of Aboriginal girls and women has received increasing attention in recent years especially in the wake of growing concern about how Canada's social and legal institutions have turned a blind eye to this issue. All across the country, many girls and young women living in Aboriginal communities and urban centers are struggling to cope with violence and its aftermath. According to the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP, 1996), violence is the most important issues facing Aboriginal communities. This fact sheet provides a glimpse of some of the information that is available about violence in the lives of Aboriginal girls and young women in Canada.
This background paper explores how the two drivers of men's violence against women — the unequal distribution of power and resources between women and men, and rigid gender roles and stereotypes — enable violence against women to occur. The resource draws on the internationally recognised ecological approach to understanding violence against women, developed by Dr Lori Heise. This approach conceptualises violence against women as a multifaceted interplay among the individual, organisational, and institutional factors in our sociocultural landscape (VicHealth 2007). An ecological approach acknowledges the reciprocal relationship between behaviours and the environments in which people live, work and play.
This guide has been developed by the Multicultural Centre for Women's Health (MCWH) for anyone who is working to prevent violence against women. The guide is informed by Australia's National Framework for Prevention: Change the Story and assumes the reader has an understanding of violence against women and is already familiar with the recommended key actions and approaches for primary prevention.
What We Know about IPV and HIV in Women
- Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical or sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression (including coercive tactics) by a current or former intimate partner.
- Findings from the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) indicate that 35.6% of women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and 5.9% or 6.9 million women experienced these forms of violence in the year prior to the survey.