Gender & Elections
It is autumn in Canada. The days are getting shorter, the mornings are a bit crisper, the trees are changing colours, and elections are swirling in the air.
It is likely you have already noticed this rare occurrence of both Canada and the U.S. holding federal elections within weeks of each other. What you may not have noticed, in its absence, is the virtual lack of discourse on gender equality issues in both campaigns.
At least in the U.S., with the participation of Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the primaries and now the actual campaign, there has been vigorous discussion on gender and politics; some of it progressive, much of it showing just how close to the surface our societal notions of sexism and male privilege remain.
Others may also claim we are at a unique point in history, and gender is just not a pressing issue. World financial markets are in chaos, costly and tragic wars in the Middle East appear to have no end in sight, and our planet may be self-destructing. Undoubtedly, these are serious issues, perhaps greater in magnitude than anything we have ever faced as a human species.
The irony here is that we know for a fact, that societies and cultures with enhanced gender equality go to war less, take better care of the environment, and enjoy more equitable economic conditions.
It’s also not like other nations haven’t understood this and taken on the gender equality challenge in the face of these dramatic conditions. Let me share three examples with you.
Thanks to the encouragement and advocacy of the White Ribbon Campaign in Brazil and as a part of our partnership project with WRC Canada, President Lula has declared December 6th as the National Day for Men Working to End Violence Against Women. National campaigns in that country are addressing issues of sexual harassment in the workplace, and fathers' involvement in the lives of their children.
In Spain, when José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was elected Prime Minister four years ago, he came to office with a commitment to end gender inequality. In doing so, he worked on sweeping equality laws, and directly addressed issues of men’s violence against women. Upon his re-election this year, Zapatero named what may be the world’s first gender equitable cabinet, including a female Minister of Defence. The results for Spain? One of the leaders in economic growth and unemployment rates in the European Union, troops out of Iraq, a new foreign policy focus on international aid and development, and recognized leadership on environmental issues.
Finally in Australia, a country not exactly known for gender equality, new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made some of his first policy initiatives ones to tackle domestic violence, and has been a leading advocate for the role men must play in violence prevention. “As a nation, the time has well and truly come to have a national conversation ... about how it could still be the case that in the year 2008, half a million Australian women could have experienced violence from their partner,'' he said. "And the objective is to turn this terrible statistic around. And it is my gender, our gender, Australian men who are responsible.”
Enough is enough ... Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and wife Therese Rein at a white tie fund raising dinner for White Ribbon Day. Photograph: Adam Ward
So we have an opportunity here in Canada and the U.S. to ask where is the leadership on gender equality? Who is going to make a commitment and take a stand? We are certainly not immune from these issues, when 51% of Canadian women will experience an act of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, when our female political representation ranks among the worst in developed countries, and where violence against women costs our economy an estimated $4.2 billion per year. These are questions for the campaign period – but also ones we must keep asking throughout the year.
This is shaping up to be a very exciting fall for the White Ribbon Campaign. Enjoy our first newsletter of the fall, and please keep in touch about ways you can get involved to help end violence against women.
Until the violence stops,
Todd Minerson, Executive Director
White Ribbon Campaign
Campaign 2008
The campaign period, Tuesday November 25th until Saturday December 6th,
is rapidly approaching! Are you interested in starting a campaign in your own community?
We have all the resources and support you will need to get your campaign off the ground.
The best way to start is by visiting our website:
www.whiteribbon.com where you can find a ton of resources, news, events, testimonials
and community-building tools for youth, educators, unions and corporations.
Once there, you can:
If you are looking for information about Campaign activities around the globe and here at home,
or if you would like to join in on the conversation, please visit our blog as well as our facebook
group page and our facebook causes page.
You can also make donations to White Ribbon Campaign through CanadaHelps.
WRC Programmes For Youth
White Ribbon continues to expand and improve our projects and programmes for youth while developing new partnerships and initiatives. Here are two new exciting projects starting in October.
 The Power of Being A Girl | Respect for Being a Boy Conference is a response to a broadly acknowledged need to “build common ground” between young women and young men in today’s Toronto.
It is a conference that will use engagement with different media –such as writing, story-boarding, videography, news analysis, hip-hop – to explore gender, power and race in the advent of and solutions
to violence in schools and the community. It will pay specific attention to the role that unequal dynamics between girls and boys has in the high rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault among school aged girls.
The conference takes place on Friday, October 17, 2008, 9am to 3:30pm
Check out our website for more information and registration details.
The Pelham Park Youth Resource Centre's "Building Healthy Relationships Youth Mentorship Program".
In partnership with The Pelham Park Youth Resource Centre and Toronto Community Housing we are delivering a series of six workshops for a group of 8 to 14 year old boys in the Pelham Park community housing complex.
The three hour sessions will address issues of gender, sexism, and healthy relationships. We are proud to be supporting this initiative that gives often underserved communities extra-curricular programming that focuses on positive and engaged citizenship.
A Wish, a Right, and a Responsibility
 New Brazilian fatherhood campaign brings results.
The Brazilian White Ribbon Campaign unveiled recently a new campaign aimed at raising public awareness and encouraging men
to make a greater personal investment in the care of their children. The initiative addresses Brazil’s current parental leave policy and challenges
the general public to re-think men’s role during the first month of their children’s life.
Traditionally, Brazilian law affords new fathers with five days of parental leave to welcome the arrival of a new child.
However, most men are not aware of this law nor do employers seem to support it. Most new Brazilian dads take on average one or two days to
support their spouses and be with their child. The campaign makes the point that in order to better support the development of children and in order
to better share the responsibility for child care at home, the leave period should be extended to thirty days and employers should encourage new fathers to take advantage of it.
At thirty days, the proposed change is a far cry from the leave period provided in countries such as Canada, Sweden, and Norway, but it is an important first step.
The campaign consists of television, radio, public transit, and print ads featuring four prominent Brazilian actors, themselves fathers, appealing for greater social investment
in an extended parental leave. The initiative has been launched in five major Brazilian centres - São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Porto Alegre and Florianópolis.
Brazil’s congress has added the proposed new leave policy to its debating agenda, a sign that the campaign is already having a major impact. Brazilian and other international media,
including the BBC, have also given the initiative significant exposure.
The new Fatherhood Campaign is an initiative of the Canada-Brazil Cooperation Program, a partnership between the
White Ribbon Campaigns in Canada and Brazil, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency.
Promoting Gender Equality in Jordan
An exciting new initiative is taking place on the streets of Amman, Jordan, and it’s getting people talking – about gender equality. Members of a newly created youth organization,
Gender Equality Movement (GEM), have been hitting the streets handing out awareness materials and talking to the locals about equality between men and women.
GEM’s young activists are rallying to speak out against gender inequalities and to challenge traditionally held views in Jordan. Research conducted by Freedom House among Jordanian youth,
18-25, found that 40% of those surveyed find honour crimes against women “justified”. A sizeable number found that it is reasonable to restrict a woman’s movement in some cases.
Thirty six percent of young women surveyed indicated that, if given the choice, they would have been born into the male gender.
The organization’s new logo consists of two colours – pink and blue, symbolizing men and women’s equal rights, duties, and dreams. Group activities include impromptu street outreach outings,
participation in the International Arab Children Congress, raising awareness at sporting events, and managing a Facebook group. Future initiatives include seeking corporate involvement and
lobbying Jordanian parliamentarians to enact supportive laws.
GEM is supported by several organisations including the King Hussein Foundation, the Women’s Studies Centre at the University of Jordan, and the Queen Zein Al Sharaf Institute for Development.
Fundraising To Help WRC
Create your own event in Support of White Ribbon!
An important way that you can help White Ribbon Campaign’s fundraising and publicity is to hold a special event in your community, school, or workplace. Most of you are already doing White Ribbon awareness activities in your communities. Why not take it up a notch and raise some much needed funds to support our work to end violence against women?
Get your friends together and make a difference!
Volunteer fundraising events are fun and interesting ways for you to help tell others about White Ribbon Campaign and the work we do to prevent violence against women everywhere.
Plan an Event for White Ribbon Campaign.
Are you interested in holding a special event, dinner, auction or other fundraising event in support of White Ribbon Campaign? Here are some ideas to get you going…
- Sporting event on Campus – ask attendees to make a donation, host a raffle, 50/50 draws, ball toss
- Have a dinner or cocktail party where guests bring a donation to White Ribbon Campaign instead of a gift for the host
- Tournaments (golf, bowling, basketball etc.)
- Create a faculty or residence challenge at your school
- A-thons (Swim-a-thon, run or walk-a-thon etc.)
- Auctions (items or services)
- Bake sale
- Car washes
- Garage sale
- ‘Give it up’ and be sponsored by friends and family to do it (for example, stop smoking or start exercising)
- Have your guests make a donation to White Ribbon Campaign in lieu of gifts for your birthday, bridal shower, or any other special occasion.
- The possibilities and fun are limitless.
Get started
Once you have an idea for an event, simply contact our Director of Development for assistance…
Nick Rodrigue – Director of Development
nrodrigue(at)whiteribbon(dot)ca
416.920.6684
Support the White Ribbon Campaign
Did you know that the White Ribbon Campaign receives no core funding from any level of government? Except for some very limited project specific funding, our work is made possible only through the generosity of the foundations, corporations, and individuals like you who donate to our cause. If you are already a supporter, please consider a few ways you can make an even bigger impact.
- Become a monthly donor. This enables us to plan our fiscal year more securely, and helps us with a more consistent source of donations.
- See if your workplace has an employee charitable program. Many corporations help employees by supporting causes they are aligned with – see if you company is one of them.
- Tell your friends, family and colleagues about the White Ribbon Campaign!
Donate Online
What are we doing right? What could we do better?
Want to get involved?
For any of these issues, or any others that come to mind, please let us know by e-mail at info(at)whiteribbon(dot)ca or by phone at (416)920-6684 or 1-800-328-2228 .
|
Back to top
