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Newsletter Fall 2005 Safer for Women & Children Safer for Everyone |
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Powers That Be: Linking Authority & Violence In this issue:Message from the President (Stephanie Dutrizac, President) I am honoured to assume my new role as President of the Board of METRAC, a dynamic organization whose hard work and advocacy has made a significant contribution to creating safer communities in Toronto and beyond. I am also pleased to introduce this newsletter focusing on the connection between authority and violence - a challenging but fundamental topic. To do any work that addresses violence prevention, issues of power and authority are necessarily confronted. Although it's important to focus our attention on helping those most vulnerable to violence, it's also important to shift our gaze to powerful institutions, systems, and relationships that shape experiences of violence and, in some cases, serve to perpetuate them. METRAC works hard to develop programming that addresses violence against women, youth, and children as a power issue, in its many forms. To support this vital work, we are seeking new METRAC Members, Board Committee participants, and Board Members. If you are interested in contributing to METRAC and developing skills in fundraising, communications, strategic planning and visioning, social justice and activism, human resources, or accounting, we would love to hear from you! I am happy to report that Sandra Noe, a volunteer on our Fundraising Committee, and Donna Hepkin, another volunteer, have recently joined our Board. I also want to thank our departing Board Members who have contributed their time, skills, and energy to METRAC in countless ways: Deborah Niles, Marilyn Oladimeji, and Shahnaz Uddin. And thank you to the many individuals, foundations, organizations, and corporations who support METRAC and help fund our excellent programs that fight violence against women, youth, and children every day. METRAC's Mission The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children works towards the goal of eliminating all forms of violence against women and children. It is committed to the right of all women and children to live free from violence and the threat of violence. METRAC's work is informed by anti-oppression principles which recognize that women and children within and among diverse communities experience violence in different ways and forms, and which recognize that anti-violence measures must address the distinctive realities of women and children within and among diverse communities. METRAC's Staff
METRAC's Board
Message from the Executive Director (Wendy Komiotis, Executive Director) Hello and a warm welcome to METRAC's Fall 2005 newsletter. Our theme for this issue is authority and violence against women. Articles featured here speak to the work of METRAC's Board, staff, and volunteers to address multiple factors of authority as they impact women's safety and experiences of violence. In these pages, we hope you find new possibilities for taking action to end a social problem that diminishes the lives, dignity, and human rights of 55% of the population in our city, province, country, and world. For more than 25 years, I have observed that despite the prevalence of violence against women, the issue has failed to command consistent public attention and action. It carries little status in the way that other social and health issues do. It is as if women don't matter. One could say the issue of violence against women has no authority. Although partner assault is against the law in Canada, it is still often regarded as a private family affair. It is a crime in which women's suffering is tolerated in silence by society until it becomes a public tragedy. At METRAC, we've been working as a team to raise the profile of violence against women on the agenda of authorities to shift institutional norms and practices and make them more responsive and accountable to women's safety. Specifically, some of METRAC's work with authorities includes active participation on the City of Toronto Violence Against Women and Policing Working Group, addressing Toronto Police Service's plans, policies, and daily practices in relation to violence against women. Our Justice Program recently piloted a new Court Watch on Sexual Assault to monitor legal proceedings that either support or undermine justice for women who have been raped. Respect in Action (ReAct), our youth program, has been working with youth across the city to promote non-violent models of masculinity and femininity. Peer facilitators have been challenging youth attitudes in workshops about violence against women in film, television, music videos, song lyrics, and advertisements and the portrayal of violence as normal. Watch out for more news on how we have been crafting a new vision of popular media to provide children and youth with alternatives to violence against women. Ending violence against women will not only depend on giving authority to the issue by changing institutional norms and practices that tolerate and dismiss women's deaths and suffering. Ending violence against women will call for a fundamental shift in the cultural attitudes and beliefs that give rise to violence towards women in the first place, and that will depend as much on the influence of authorities as it will depend on the actions of individual women and men.
Understanding Authority (Mary Higgins, Volunteer, and Communications Committee) When we think of the word 'authority', we tend to focus on things like the law, government, education system, and mass media. These influence how violence against women is addressed and understood in complex ways that can be both helpful and harmful. But throughout history, other forms of authorities such as societal norms, customs, and religion have also served to regulate our day-to-day lives as well. Authority is related to power - social authorities reinforce power relationships between people, making women and other marginalized groups more vulnerable to violence. And violence strengthens the power of authorities as well, who often remain unquestioned. We have to challenge how violence, authority, and power work together to create inequity between people and make sexism and violence against diverse women, youth, and children seem normal and acceptable. Community Safety and Authorities (Wendy Komiotis) METRAC's Community Safety Program is designed to increase participation of individuals and different authorities to enhance public safety through the development, implementation, and evaluation of safety plans, training, policies, and procedures. We have continued to work with universities and colleges with particular emphasis on improving the physical and social environment of campuses, including an acknowledgement of the role of discrimination and harassment in public violence. Our most recent initiative has been delivering Workplace Violence Prevention training to more than 400 staff across several campuses of a local community college. METRAC's work with the City of Toronto and policy makers to build a safer Toronto has been successful in educating people about safety strategies, providing opportunities for local action, and helping communities identify and respond to local tensions and problems. We have undertaken several Community Safety Audits in partnership with local City Councilors and groups to build safer neighbourhoods and decrease fear of violence. For the past five years, METRAC has organized its Annual Community Safety Night in collaboration with the City of Toronto, which involves outreach, training, and support to neighbourhoods. This year, our Safety Night will provide an opportunity for Toronto youth between 13 and 21 years of age to evaluate the safety of their neighbourhoods, make important recommendations, and work together to address their specific safety needs.
Law, Authority, and Violence Against Women (Ginny Santos, Legal Coordinator, and Pamela Cross, Legal Director) METRAC's Community Justice Program has received new funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario to continue and expand our province-wide work, aimed at increasing access to justice for women who have experienced violence. This builds on earlier support from the Law Foundation in which we developed training materials on a variety of legal issues relevant to women experiencing violence, trained anti-violence workers across Ontario in these materials, distributed the materials broadly, and translated handout resources into 7 languages. With this new support, we will:
For more information, contact METRAC's Justice Coordinator at cleric@metrac.org or 416-392-3138. Looking Forward to Justice (Ginny Santos, Justice Coordinator) For many women dealing with issues of violence, the law is an alien authority wielding power over their lives, not unlike the power held by their abusers. METRAC's Community Justice Program continues to work to change this dynamic through its key initiatives:
The Justice Program works for systemic change and empowers women with the goal of dismantling the authoritarian nature of the law. For more info, contact METRAC's Justice Program at cleric@metrac.org or 416-392-3138.
Unlearning Violence: Outreach and Education at METRAC Traditional views of gender-based violence say it's a private matter between women and men, which takes attention from the problem's seriousness and leaves survivors blamed, silent, and isolated. All kinds of authorities, including media, educational, legal, and governmental institutions, repeat that traditional view constantly. METRAC makes great efforts to reach out to Toronto's communities with a different view, one that understands that violence is a deeply rooted social issue that needs to be "unlearned" by everyone. METRAC's Community Outreach and Education Program is starting projects that encourage a non-traditional understanding of violence against women, youth, and children. We're launching the RePlay project for children 8 to 14 years old. RePlay will work with diverse children, educators, and parents in Ontario to create video games and resources to help children challenge mainstream views of gender violence that they have already learned and encourage them to think differently. We're also starting a great urban arts project for high school aged women living in marginalized neighbourhoods in Toronto, called the Rise Project. Here, young women from Rexdale, Malvern, and Jane- Finch will connect with urban women artists and METRAC's Youth Peer Facilitators. They will work together to learn about violence against young women and use their knowledge to create violence-challenging art like spoken word pieces, dance routines, skits, and hip hop songs. This conscious art will be shared with other youth and Toronto's public, bringing the 'unlearning' process to everyone. Of course, METRAC's Outreach Program is continuing its ongoing prevention initiatives - our informative website (www.metrac.org), our ReAct Program, creation and distribution of accessible written resources on violence issues, referrals for women to places they can get help, facilitating THRIVE: the Multicultural Women's Coalition Against Violence and Oppression, providing important input in anti-violence coalitions and projects, and hosting outreach events like our successful Community Open House in June 2005. Through METRAC's new and already proven Outreach and Education work, our consistent goal is to give the public tools to unlearn violence against women, youth, and children once and for all. For more information, contact METRAC's Outreach Manager at 416-392-4760 or outreach@metrac.org
Authority in the Lives of Youth: Respect in Action It's this very thing that makes Respect in Action (ReAct) unique. Our program is run by youth, for youth. ReAct workshops help create spaces for youth to freely speak with one another about the violence that impacts their lives. Instead of imposing what we believe youth should know on them, ReAct holds firm to the belief that all youth have their own particular knowledge and expertise and can learn from one another. Recently, ReAct joined a Youth Police Advisory Committee. We hope that we can help bring attention to the concerns of Toronto youth about the role of police authorities in their lives and promote the importance of putting gender-based violence on the agenda. Also, ReAct has been looking critically at the role of the media as an authority in creating gender stereotypes of young women and men. We are examining music videos, popular television shows, and movies to show the ways that young women and men, especially youth of colour, get boxed into stereotypes through the media. ReAct Peer Facilitators David Lewis and Alyssa Asomani are working with local filmmaker Ash Yoon to create a short documentary that explores the link between gender stereotypes and violence in dating relationships. Alyssa explains that "youth try desperately to be like what they see in the media, but it affects us negatively so we should dismiss it more than embrace it." Our hope is that the ReAct documentary will help give youth empowering tools to be critical of these negative media stereotypes. But the issue isn't simple. "This doesn't mean that we should just throw away music or movies we like to listen to and watch," Alyssa says. She talks about how some kinds of media are blamed as "the problem", such as hip hop and R&B music videos, while others forms of media are ignored. Often, society focuses on certain aspects of mass media to further marginalize already marginalized youth of colour. "They don't care to understand that we as a community translate and receive the music as a refuge in a way those with privilege can't identify with". ReAct challenges how popular media is an authority that can perpetuate gender, race, and class stereotypes. But we are also exploring the different meanings media can have in the lives of diverse youth. We believe that this approach will positively address the complex issue of youth violence and its connection to the media, rather than playing the same old blame game. For more info, contact ReAct at speakersbureau@ metrac.org or 416-397-0258. You may also apply online for a ReAct workshop by going to www.metrac.org/ programs/info/wkshop_order.htm.
Media and Understandings of Violence Against Women: Media Watch (Stephanie Brown, Volunteer) Newspapers are not often thought of as an authority, but they heavily influence society's understanding of issues like violence against women. They guide our opinions and affect how big of a problem we believe it to be.Through METRAC's Media Watch research, it's clear that violence against women is underreported in newspapers. When it does get covered, the violence usually involves famous people. These stories receive front-page attention. But we rarely read about the thousands of women killed by their partners every year or the abuse that affect millions of women worldwide. Even when we do read about it, stories are often trivialized as 'personal matters' or stereotyped as a product of 'cultural norms'. News media focuses on sensationalized violence. For example, stories about 'stranger rapes' receive more coverage than stories related to violence against women in their homes. Generally, stories about sexual violence focus on individual women, especially if they fit the profile of the 'marketable victim' - conventionally attractive, white, middle or high income, and able bodied. The focus is then placed on putting women on trial, as the news media pays attention to women's sexual histories more than men's violence. Other labeling occurs. Women are identified first by their ages, relationship to their abusers (wife, girlfriend, mother), and ascribed role in the story ("victim", "prostitute", "drug addict") before they are identified as people by their names. How violence against women is addressed in news media is directly connected to how women are viewed and treated in society. Women are often shown as victims or sexual objects and language is used to mask, minimize, and make the violence seem normal, acceptable, and expected, focusing on the "pathological" aspects of the perpetrator. The next time you read a story about violence against women, change all the female references to male references and see how the story reads. Would such media coverage ever be printed?
Volunteering to Challenge Authority Our most recent Volunteer Training and Orientation Session was held on the evening of Thursday, June 16th, and the next session is going to be in fall of 2005. METRAC works to ensure that its volunteers reflect the diversity of Toronto. We encourage all women to volunteer, including those with diverse life experiences, sexual identities, and ethno-cultural and income-level backgrounds. We welcome you to join our team of volunteers! For more info, contact METRAC's Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@metrac.org or 416-392-4286. You may apply online to volunteer online by visiting www.metrac.org/about/volunt.htm#vol.
Some Thoughts From a METRAC Volunteer Helen Anderson joined METRAC as a volunteer with METRAC's Respect in Action (ReAct) program last October. She shared some of her thoughts with us.
Q: How did you become involved with METRAC's ReAct Program?
Q: What are you doing with ReAct?
Q: How have you come across issues of authority and violence?
Q: How do you think METRAC reaches out to diverse communities to address the issue of authority and violence? METRAC sends many thanks to Helen and our entire team of volunteers for their help.
Profile of a METRAC Board Member (Emily Essig, Volunteer) The Board of Directors is an important aspect of METRAC. We interviewed Shelanda R. Wilson, one of our Board Members.
Q: How long have you been with METRAC as a Board member?
Q: What experiences and skills do you bring to the organization?
Q: Thus far, what has been one of your most rewarding experiences at METRAC?
Q: What are you hoping to see METRAC achieve in the future?
Q: Do you see METRAC as an alternative resource to traditional channels of authority for people who are seeking to deal with violence in their own lives and in society? If so, how?
Q: In what ways do you feel that METRAC, as an organization, tries to avoid taking on the traditional trappings of authority inherent in many existing systems? We thank Shelanda for her work on METRAC's Board, as well as all of our dedicated Board Members.
Thank You for Supporting METRAC Funders:
Volunteers and Interns:
New and Departing Staff:
Our Community Partners:
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