For Immediate Release: PANSOW expresses disappointment at lack of government consultation

Posted on

For Immediate Release

October 19, 2017

PANSOW expresses disappointment at lack of government consultation

Following the In Her Name Vigil for missing and murdered women and girls of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women (PANSOW) and a coalition of anti-violence groups called for the establishment of a Provincial Task Force on Gender-Based Violence. This week the Provincial Government announced the formation of a Minister’s Committee on Violence Against Women and Girls. PANSOW is expressing disappointment in this approach.

PANSOW and its community partners called for the establishment of a task force to oversee the implementation of a comprehensive, provincial plan to end domestic violence, and all violence, against women and girls. The Minister’s Committee on Violence Against Women and girls will be comprised of government and community representatives; membership is by invitation only.

Jenny Wright, PANSOW Co-Chair and Executive Director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council:

“The way in which the government has established this committee circumvents the work of a coalition of anti-violence and domestic violence experts. The government did not acknowledge PANSOW’s request or engage in any consultation on the matter. Telling organizations to wait for an invitation is not a consultation.”

PANSOW had asked women-serving anti-violence organizations to join the call for a provincial task force and had responses from organizations across the province.

Janice Kennedy, PANSOW Co-Chair and Executive Director, Bay St. George Status of Women Council:

“The shift from a task force informed and led by anti-violence experts to an invitation-only committee is disappointing. Consulting with those who issued the call for a task force on gender-based violence should be an imperative for this government.”

PANSOW is calling on Minister Parsons to halt the further development of this committee until his department has met with the organization and its partners.

-30-

 Media Contact

Janice Kennedy

PANSOW, Co-Chair

Executive Director, Bay St. George Status of Women

Tel: 709.643.4444

Email: executivedirector.bsgswc@gmail.com

About PANSOW 

The Provincial Action Network of the Status of Women (PANSOW) is a grassroots, feminist, and non-partisan network which gives a provincial voice on the issues facing the Status of Women in Newfoundland and Labrador. PANSOW consists of all eight Status of Women Councils in Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

For Immediate Release: PANSOW Issues Call for a Provincial Task Force on Gender Based Violence

Posted on

For Immediate Release

October 6, 2017

PANSOW Issues Call for a Provincial Task Force on Gender Based Violence

Following the In Her Name Vigil for missing and murdered women and girls of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women (PANSOW) and a coalition of anti-violence groups are calling for the establishment of a Provincial Task Force on Gender-Based Violence. The goal of this task force would be to oversee the implementation of a comprehensive, provincial plan to end domestic violence, and all violence, against women and girls.

The organizations joining PANSOW in calling for this task force include: Transition House Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s Native Friendship Centre, Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre, Violence Prevention – Avalon East, and Violence Prevention – West.

This task force must contain representation from the provincial Departments of Justice and Public Safety, Education and Early Childhood Development, Health and Community Services, Children, Seniors and Social Development, and the Status of Women, survivors of domestic violence, and women-serving anti-violence organizations.

Jenny Wright, PANSOW Co-Chair and Executive Director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council:

“This needs to be the moment in our history, where we agree as a people that the levels of violence experienced by women and girls is simply no longer acceptable to us, that what we have been doing is failing women, and that, we choose another path. That path is a task force on gender violence.”

Newfoundland and Labrador has among the highest rates of domestic violence in the country. It is one of the few provinces where domestic violence is on the rise. Sadly, the rate of domestic violence is likely much higher than we know; 70 per cent of spousal violence is not reported to the police. Of the 217,900 women over the age of 15 residing in Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately 108,950 (one in two) will experience at least one incident of sexual or physical violence throughout their lifetime. Approximately 10 per cent (10,895) of these women will actually report this victimization to police. ​

Janice Kennedy, PANSOW Co-Chair and Executive Director, Bay St. George Status of Women Council:

“The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador must form an immediate task force to address the high and unacceptable rates of gender-based violence in this province. Too many women are missing or have already died and many more are at risk. We demand the task force bring together government and community stakeholders to implement systemic and legislative changes that improve the safety and lives of women and children throughout the province. Every citizen of this province deserves the right to live in peace and safety in their homes, and their communities.”

PANSOW is asking other women-serving anti-violence organizations to join this call for a provincial task force. If your organization would like to sign on, please contact Jenny Wright, Executive Director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council and Co-Chair, PANSOW.

-30-

 Media Contact

Jenny Wright

Executive Director

St. John’s Status of Women Council/Women’s Centre

Tel. 709.753.0220

jenny@sjwomenscentre.ca

 

 

Janice Kennedy

Executive Director BSG Status of Women

PANSOW, Co-Chair

Tel: 709.643.4444

executivedirector.bsgswc@gmail.com

 

About PANSOW 

The Provincial Action Network of the Status of Women (PANSOW) is a grassroots, feminist, and non-partisan network which gives a provincial voice on the issues facing the Status of Women in Newfoundland and Labrador. PANSOW consist of all eight Status of Women Council in Newfoundland and Labrador

 

 

SJSWC Launches Membership Drive Campaign

Posted on

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

July 6, 2017

SJSWC Launches Membership Drive Campaign

St. John’s, NL – The St. John’s Status of Women Council is the oldest, member-owned women’s centre in Canada. Today, they launch a new campaign inviting all people who feel passionately about issues such as wage parity, accessible childcare, gender balance in leadership, anti-violence work, sex worker rights, and feminism to become members.

Jenny Wright, Executive Director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council:

“I am so excited to launch this campaign as it will allow us to connect directly with people in our community who want to lend their voice, their skills, and their passion to the the daily work of advancing women’s rights. We welcome everyone who shares our guiding principles to become a member, and I especially encourage people who have wondered how they could get involved or who want to stay up to date on opportunites for activism to join us now.”

Becoming a member of the SJSOWC allows you to take an active role in the fight for equality, rights, and justice in Newfoundland and Labrador. Members will be provided with opportunities to join the SJSOWC at events, take part in training opportunities, contribute their expertise or time, contribute to policy positions, and help support and spread awareness of causes and campaigns.

Annual memberships range in cost from $20 to $5. Both individuals and groups are invited to apply for membership at https://sjwomenscentre.ca/join/

-30-

Media Contact:
Jenny Wright, Executive Director, SJSWC

jenny@sjwomenscentre.ca


The St. John’s Status of Women Council/Women’s Centre is a feminist organization that since 1972 is continually working to achieve equality and justice through political activism, community collaboration and the creation of a safe and inclusive space for all women in the St. John’s area. Today, the SJSOWC operates The Women’s Centre, Marguerites Place Supportive Housing Program, and Safe Harbour Outreach Project. It recently launched Right Here, Right Now, an innovative mental health initiative that provides walk-in counselling for all women.

 

 

FemFestNL 2.0 Call for Submissions

Posted on

FemFestNL 2.0 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

FemFestNL is a festival of all things feminist, including concerts, film screenings, readings – to be held in downtown St. John’s. We are asking you to help shape the conference through a call for submissions!

When: August 11th to 13th, 2017

Where: The Space, Harbour Drive, St. John’s

Who we are: A committee of feminist organizations, students and activists who are organizing FemFest NL – a feminist conference to take place in St. John’s. It will be carried out from August 11th-13th, 2017 with a two-day forum (August 12th and 13th) with panel discussions and lectures, to happen at The Space.

FemFestNL prioritizes the voice and experience of women in our community. We welcome submissions from all women (trans, intersex, cis, 2S) and all those who experience gendered oppression (including non-binary and gender non-conforming people) and all those who identify as women for the purpose of political organizing.

FemFestNL events are open to everyone.

For this conference, will be accepting proposals for panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions based around feminist organizing, community activism and political action in Newfoundland and Labrador. We want to know how our community does direct political action, how they work to create community solidarity and how we can share these skills with each other.

What we would like from you: Your name and organization (if affiliated) with short two sentence bios, proposed topic, session type (panel, TED Talk, workshop, roundtable, etc.), and length of session, how many presenters (and their names and short bios if already planned).

We are prioritizing submissions focused on Feminist activism:

Direct action

Political action

Community solidarity 

Allyship

Submissions open from June 24th to July 15th, 2017 (12 pm NL standard time)
Please submit to: nlfemfest@gmail.com

For Immediate Release: The St. John’s Status of Women Council implements Domestic Violence Leave Policy

Posted on

For Immediate Release

May 29th, 2017

St. John’s, NL

The St. John’s Status of Women Council implements Domestic Violence Leave Policy

The St. John’s Status of Women Council (SJSOWC) has created and implemented a Domestic Violence Leave Policy within their organization and encourages public, private business and community organizations to adopt a similar policy.

According to the Canadian Labour Congress report, Domestic Violence at Work, “Over 80 percent of domestic violence victims report that their work performance was negatively affected.  Absenteeism and poor work performance can leave victims vulnerable to discipline, and some even lose their jobs.”

The SJSOWC is also working with the NL Federation of Labour to create change at a provincial level, advocating for Domestic Violence Leave Legislation in Newfoundland and Labrador which would provide paid leave for employees experiencing domestic violence through amendments to Labour and Employment standards legislation.

Jenny Wright, Executive Director of the St John’s Status of Women Council:

“I am very encouraged that we will have domestic violence legislation in our province soon. In the interim, community organizations and business can easily adopt their own in house policy to protect their employees who are experiencing or fleeing domestic violence. And, we are here to help.”

The SJSOWC Domestic Violence Leave Policy provides 3 days paid leave, for employees experiencing domestic violence which can be taken at once or in increments to attend to legal, health, housing and childcare needs.

Mary Shortall, President of the NL Federation of Labour and Chair of the SJSOWC:

“This is a very important issue for our members. Domestic Violence at work impacts workers and employers. While we work with our affiliates to address this issue at the bargaining table, we are also working closely with our partners in the broader community so that all workers can have the legislative protection they need when domestic violence comes to the workplace.”

Media contact:

Jenny Wright, Executive Director, St. John’s Status of Women Council

jenny@sjwomenscentre.ca

Mary Shortall, President, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour

mshortall@nlfl.nf.ca

The St. John’s Status of Women Council/Women’s Centre is a feminist organization that since 1972 is continually working to achieve equality and justice through political activism, community collaboration and the creation of a safe and inclusive space for all women in the St. John’s area.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL) represents 25 affiliated unions, 500 union locals and 65,000 working women and men in every sector of our economy, in every community in our Province.

-30-

Maggie Burton on running for St. John’s city council and why she wants your help

Posted on

I remember being shocked. It was 2013, and we had just elected a council of eleven men and zero women. Zero.

* * *

Although we’re a majority of the population, women usually only expect an equal voice. 50%. We’ve never got there, not on St. John’s City Council.

Apparently the United Nations says that women’s issues start getting heard when a legislative body contains 30% women. I don’t know how they came up with that number. We’ve got there once, I think. In 1990 there were nine people on Council, and Suzanne Duff and Dorothy Wyatt and Wendy Williams made up one third.

But one woman on council—it was easy to take that for granted.

* * *

Dorothy Wyatt became the first woman on St. John’s City Council in 1969, and for the next forty-four years there was always at least one woman. It seemed like a sure thing. It wasn’t.

The long wait until 1969 wasn’t a sure thing either. Believe it or not, in 1925, in the very first election in Newfoundland or Labrador where women were allowed to vote, Julia Salter Earle came within eleven votes of winning. Eleven votes isn’t very many. You can get that putting up a lawn sign, or talking to your friends and family.

Hillary winning was supposed to be a sure thing.

I don’t believe much in sure things anymore.

* * *

I can’t pretend the only reason I’m running is that we need more women on council. I have lots of reasons; if you want to know what I believe in, look me up or get in touch! But: we need more women on council, and that’s definitely a big reason why I’m running.

I didn’t plan to run in 2017. I’m 26 years old. I have two young children and a few careers. I thought I’d help out, maybe work on a campaign. So I started asking people I respect who I should help, and how, and what they said was: Run yourself. We need women to take the plunge and run.

So I did.

* * *

They say incumbents always win in municipal politics. They say name recognition always triumphs. They say that’s a sure thing.

Let’s not be fooled by sure things anymore. St. John’s is a small town, and one person—you—can make a big difference here.

This is the part where I ask for your help.

I need a lot of help right now. Any kind of help; whatever you can spare, I need it. So please, think if there’s anything you can do!

Can you volunteer? Take a lawn sign? Donate? Join my email list? Talk to your friends and family? Can you like or share stuff on Facebook?

Get in touch. Vote for a new voice, a strong voice on council.

Facebook: @votemaggie2017

Twitter: @mmburton

Email: votemaggie2017@gmail.com

Phone: 709-685-1737

Maggie is running for councillor at large for St. John’s. As a teacher and musician, a non-profit administrator and leadership coach, a writer, and as the mom of two young children, Maggie has a lot of experience to offer—and a different perspective.

PANSOW stands in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington – St. John’s

Posted on

Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women (PANSOW) fully supports the Women’s March on Washington – St John’s. This rally joins marches globally in support of the Women’s March on Washington.  Women’s rights are human rights. From safety to pay equity, access to health care and reproductive rights we must remain vigilant so that we do not risk losing hard won rights. We have much work to do in this province to reach gender equality and justice and hope this important march driven by women will become a turning point in our history where we all come together to ensure that half the population is not left behind.

When women flourish, so do their families and our communities.

In Solidarity

Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women.

PANSOW is a grass roots, feminist & non-partisan network which gives a provincial voice on the issues facing the Status of Women. The Network is a coalition of all eight Status of Women Councils in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Status of Women Council of NL fully support buffer zone.

Posted on

The Status of Women Councils of Newfoundland and Labrador (SWCNL) are pro-choice, feminist organizations that lobby and advocate for equality rights. The SWCNL fully support a legislated buffer zone to create a safe space around the Athena Clinic in St. John’s.

Abortion is a legal healthcare service in Canada and has been since 1988.

Buffer zones allow women to access clinics and hospitals safely, without harassment and intimidation, and with the fundamental privacy and confidentiality that we all deserve. We cannot forget the long and often violent history that has been a real and direct threat to women and healthcare professionals across Canada which continues to make buffer zones necessary.

Important to note:

– Injunctions and bubble zone laws have significantly reduced protest activity at every clinic that uses them, sometimes completely eliminates it.

– Although protest activity has been relatively low and sporadic at most clinics since the mid-1990, it is on the rise again with the anti-choice “40 Days for Life” campaign that stages ongoing demonstrations outside abortion clinics. http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/presentations/ARCC-survey-protest-activity.pdf

Continue reading “Status of Women Council of NL fully support buffer zone.” →