NDP leader Carole James has many concerns on Highway of Tears

NDP leader Carole James says she heard many concerns about the murders and disappearances of women along highway 16 when she worked for a first nations social services agency in Prince George several years ago.

And James says there are steps politicians could take to improve safety along the lonely highway.

"You've got to make sure transportation is available, there are many young women who can't get from community to community and need to for court proceedings, for health care issues, for family issues, so there are a range of things that government could have been stepping in to do, but I have to say that people didn't feel that the government was taking it seriously."

James says she also heard from many people in the first nations community who felt the RCMP were not taking the issue seriously.

Moms Challenge Breastfeeding Intolerance

Everyone knows that when it comes to feeding baby, breast is best. But even in these enlightened times, there are some who find the sight of mom breastfeeding in public offensive.

This is one of the reasons why the Quintessence Foundation holds an annual "breastfeeding challenge." In the seventh challenge, held in a variety of locations across North America recently, breastfeeding mothers gathered to see just how many babies they could breastfeed in public at once.

From Newfoundland to B.C and Alabama to Alaska, moms and babies came out in force to 258 sites in 34 regions. Montreal, with 445 participating babies, had the largest number at a Canadian site.

The challenge is designed in part to help people become accustomed to the sight of women breastfeeding and soften societal attitudes toward those who choose to feed "anytime, anywhere."

"In doing the challenge we're not trying to make people do anything, we're just trying to educate the general public, give mothers the feeling that they are supported, that we do appreciate what they're doing and that this is important," says Frances Jones of the non-profit Quintessence Foundation, based in Vancouver.

According to Stats Can, less than 20 percent of Canadian women feed their babies exclusively human milk for as long as the recommended six months. This is due in large part to lack of support, experts say.

LINK: Epoch Times

Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile

The study, "Spousal homicide or attempts and prior police contact for spousal abuse," published today in the 2007 edition of Family Violence in Canada, illustrates that spousal homicide or attempted spousal homicide can occur without prior police knowledge or warning.

The study analyzed data on persons accused of spousal homicide or attempts and their previous contacts with police for spousal abuse over an 11-year time frame, from 1995 to 2005 inclusive.

The study found that perpetrators of spousal homicide or attempted homicide were overwhelmingly male (82%) compared with 18% who were female. The proportion of male spousal homicide offenders who were "repeat" spousal abusers was 3.5 times greater than that of their female counterparts. Males were also more likely to be "chronic" spousal abusers.

Group accuses Unilever of ad hypocrisy

Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty" has been extolled by women's groups and the advertising industry for its message that the beauty industry sets unrealistic one for Dove that praises women and their natural beauty and one for Axe that the group said "blatantly objectifies and degrades" them.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood launched a letter-writing effort on its website and demanded that the company pull ads for the Axe line of grooming products for men, which one online pitch says makes "nice girls turn naughty."

Unilever shouldn't be commended for Dove's "Campaign for Real Beauty" while promoting products with a starkly different message, said Susan Linn, the consumer group's director and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "The campaign says they're going to help girls to resist a toxic marketing environment but they're creating that environment as well," Linn said.

"When you take a stance," as Dove has with its anti-beauty industry marketing, "it does raise the game," O'Keefe said.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, affiliated with Harvard University, is a coalition of healthcare professionals and advocacy groups.

On its website, it asks people to send Unilever a form e-mail or letter urging the company to "end your sexist and degrading advertising for Axe grooming products."

LINK:The Dove "Evolution" ad
LINK: Axe commercials
LINK: Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
LINK: LA Times

Toronto's Largest Women's Organization Calls on Provincial Candidates to Address Violence Against Women in their Platforms and Funding

YWCA Toronto, the city's largest multi-service organization by, for and about women and girls is stunned by the 64th and 65th murders of the year, two women both under the age of 30, but is not surprised that not one political candidate has addressed how his party will work to end violence against women in the province. One victim, Jocelyn Dulnuan, a27- year-old woman living as domestic worker in a tony Mississauga neighbourhood, the other 25-year-old Aysuen Sesen, was seven months pregnant when she was allegedly stabbed to death by her common law husband.

"At YWCA Toronto we see causes of violence against women as they affect each of the services we provide," says YWCA Toronto Chief Executive Officer Heather McGregor. "We see the connections between abuse and the factors that prevent women from leaving abusive partners including insufficient post- shelter funding; inadequate access to safe, affordable and permanent housing; and the overwhelming lack of affordable, high-quality childcare. With a week left before Ontarians head to the polls, what are the parties'positions on the development of a more effective domestic violence action plan?"

11th annual WeekWithout Violence

Between October 15-20th YWCA Toronto will host its 11th annual Week Without Violence, a week long series of free events throughout the GTA aimed at eradicating violence and envisioning peaceful communities including: girlJAM5, an all-ages festival of music aimed at raising awareness about violence in young women's lives; Bully2U, a speaker, author and performance series for400 high school students on violence and bullying in popular culture; BU: The Power of Being a Girl, an all-day conference for 200 girls and young women ages 14-22 on anti-violence, self empowerment and self care at the North YorkCivic Centre; and a host of other internal events for women in YWCA Toronto shelters and after shelter programs. For more information visit http://www.weekwithoutviolence.com/

LINK: YWCA

Good bosses care about work-life balance: study

The successful company of the future will be run by an enlightened boss who helps employees balance their work and home lives, says one of the authors of a study done for Health Canada on work and lifestyle.

By some estimates, Canadian businesses lose $1 billion a year due to absenteeism of employees overloaded by family and career demands.

A report, called the National Study on Balancing Work, Family and Lifestyle, found that 60 per cent of Canadian workers suffer from high levels of "role overload," or stress from trying to balance work and family commitments.

The Gender Agenda of the Pink Tide in Latin America

With the election of leftist leaders in many parts of Latin America, the subject of women seems to be coming up more frequently in public discourse. Hugo Chávez speaks about Venezuelan women as “revolutionary mothers,” Evo Morales presents Bolivian women as combatants and fighters, and Michelle Bachelet committed herself to addressing gender equality in Chile. Women are in the public spotlight and active as never before with the ascent of moderate to leftist leaders across the region. Yet what is the impact of this increased visibility on the lives and opportunities of women from diverse class and racial backgrounds? How do the more left wing and radical leaders differ from moderate leaders of the pink tide in their approach to issues of women’s rights?

The relationship of women to revolutionary movements is quite different today to what it was in the post-revolutionary contexts of Cuba in the 1960s and Nicaragua in the 1980s. In those earlier contexts, political leaders created state women’s agencies in order to promote women’s interests and rights within a broader project of state-building. Women of all classes participated in organizations such as the Federation of Cuban Women and the Luisa Amanda Espinoza Association of Nicaraguan Women. These organizations provided important scope for addressing gender inequalities, but women’s interests were often secondary to greater political goals of national unity and development.

By contrast, we find that under left wing governments in Latin America today, women are not organized en masse within state women’s organizations.

LINK: Read entire article at New Socialist

This article originally appeared on Znet

Women’s History Month - celebrating women's achievements

Since 1992, October has been recognized as Women’s History Month in Canada – a time to celebrate the incredible achievements of women. Canadian women have shaped and continue to shape our country – with their strength, wisdom and courage.

This year’s selected theme by the Status of Women Canada is Celebrating Immigrant Women in Canada. The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is pleased that the government is acknowledging the important contribution that immigrant women make to Canada. NUPGE notes, however, the hypocrisy of the government’s withdrawal of funding from groups that provide a voice for immigrant women.

LINK: NUPGE

Quebec city - Pro-choice outmobilizes chain for life

When NEFAC members learned that a bunch of christian fundamentalists where mobilising for a so-called “chain for life” in Quebec city, the decided to do something about it. They called their friends and comrades at the Ainsi squattent-elles! anarcha-feminist radio program and issued a joint call for a pro-choice counter demonstration. In less then a week, the anarchists where able to mobilise close to one hundred people, that’s five times more then the anti-abortion group!

LINK: Anarkismo.net
LINK: Flickr photo report

' Talk to your daughter about beauty before the beauty industry does'

A young girl is shown and then an onslaught of beauty adverts and imagery is shown.

The advert carrys the simple message ' Talk to your daughter about beauty before the beauty industry does'


LINK: View video here at YouTube

"So We Don't Have A Voice Any More"

The Harper government is to women's groups what an abusive boyfriend, abusive husband is to an abused woman. A common definition of abuse is the intentional and systematic use of tactics to control women and her children. That's exactly what the Harper government has done, they've controlled us so we don't have a voice any more.

- Excerpt, interview with Elaine Stewart, Second Stage housing, Saint John on the national CBC radio program, The Current, referring to the Harper changes in funding rules so women's groups who do advocacy for equality are out; only groups, incl businesses and religious groups, who give direct services qualify. Click on Part 2 to listen to it :

LINK: CBC

Harper Supports Advocacy, Just Not Women's

For the next 5 years, Canada is giving $500,000/yr to the Conference of Defence Associations, "the oldest and most influential advocacy group in Canada's defence community", to promote better understanding of defence issues and of the contributions of Canadian Forces.

- Excerpt, Dept of National Defence, www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/pd/gc/details_e.asp?q=4&y=2006&id=38