Share
Violence against women is a union issue, and one that everyone – including and especially our governments – which need to do more to address, Unifor National President Jerry Dias told a panel on the issue at a recent meeting of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITC) in Bulgaria.
“When unions take this on, we can make a difference. Violence against women is a global problem and requires a global trade union response,” Dias said, congratulating the ITF for its campaign. “But we can all do more.”
In Canada, half of all women have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. For First Nations women, the situation is even worse. While First Nations women make up just 4.3 per cent of the overall female population, they represent 16 per cent of all female homicides and are almost three times more likely to be killed by a stranger.
Dias said unions have a key role in fighting gender-based violence and sexism – pointing Unifor’s Women’s Advocate Program, which provides for trained specialists in 325 Unifor workplaces across the country.
As well, Unifor helped sponsor a University of Western Ontario survey into the impact of domestic violence in the workplace.
