December 6, 2017
Toronto – In honour of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, Unifor and the union’s Social Justice Fund have donated $146,000 to women’s shelters across the country.
“Twenty-eight years ago, misogyny led to the murder of 14 women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Today, gender-based violence continues to occur in Canada, across all regions, all cultures, and all economic groups. This donation will fund crisis services to help women and children escape domestic violence and provide much needed resources to assist in the transition to new lives.”
Unifor Local unions distributed donation cheques in the amount of $2,000 to 73 women’s shelters across the country. Union members were also called to support action to end sexism, harassment and violence in their local communities.
“Unifor continues its work to highlight the link between the sexism and misogyny we face in our everyday lives and the violence experienced by women and girls,” said Unifor Women’s Director Lisa Kelly. “By recognizing that link, we can take action on inequality and demand the changes needed to eradicate sexual harassment and violence in the workplace and our communities.”
On December 6, Unifor commemorates women whose lives have been harmed or lost to gender-based violence. We call on policymakers to pay particular attention to systemic issues that make some women particularly vulnerable including Indigenous women, trans women and women with disabilities.
Unifor has negotiated paid domestic violence leave in its collective agreements and has advocated for its inclusion in legislation, such as the recently passed Bill 148 in Ontario. The union’s ground breaking Women’s Advocate program also trains representatives in the work environment to assist other workers with issues of harassment and abuse.
“As we remember the tragic events of December 6 we mourn but renew our commitment to a gender-equal society,” said Dias.
For more information, please contact Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O’Keefe at kathleen.okeefe@unifor.org or 416-896-3303 (cell).