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This year’s Women’s Conference Creating Safe Spaces for Women – coincided with the nineteenth anniversary of the Montreal massacre where 14 women were gunned down and murdered at l’École Polytechnique simply because they were women. At the conference, CUPE sisters from across the province gathered to reflect on the tragedy of violence against women in our society.
Within the sisters only space, delegates shared their thoughts and experiences about women and girls who live daily with the threat of violence or who have died as a result of deliberate acts of gender-based violence. The sisters then developed concrete actions that we can all take to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. A full report on the conference, including these suggested actions, will be available in the New Year.
While acknowledging the enormity of the work that remains to be done, the delegates also celebrated the success of various community initiatives, such as the December 6th Fund, in addressing issues of violence against women. The sisters left the conference inspired and invigorated by each other and by the stories that were shared through music, spoken word, drumming, and listening and talking with each other in a safe and sensitive environment.
This year’s Women’s Conference also included elections for the CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee. As a result of a constitutional amendment adopted at the 2006 CUPE Ontario Convention, five representatives of equity-seeking groups as well as five members-at-large, one from Northern Ontario, were elected. Please join us in wishing the new CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee listed below all the best as they proceed into the next two years to promote women’s equality within the union and raise awareness of women’s issues in the Union, in our workplaces, and in society.
