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Unifor is a proud sponsor of the Leading Change Summit, an initiative of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, running February 19 – 21, 2019 in Edmonton, Alberta.
“These shelters play an integral role when it comes to primary prevention work, offering crucial support to women, often as the first point of contact,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “We are seeing conversations about sexual harassment, domestic violence, workplace harassment and other forms gender-based violence take place in mainstream media, so it is more important than ever that service providers, such as shelters, are part of that discussion.”
A Unifor delegation of five members are attending summit.
In 2016-17 alone, 9,927 women and children were accommodated by shelters in Alberta. The summit’s theme, “Bold Conversations to End Gender-Based Violence in a Changing World” offers a platform where service providers and users, educators, facilitators, policy makers and leaders in public and private domains can meaningfully engage with each other.
“Consent, gender norms and intimate partner violence are key issues that affect us all and that we must educate ourselves and others about,” said Lisa Kelly, Unifor Director of Women’s Department. “This summit provides an avenue to come together and devise innovative solutions that effectively address gender-based violence.”
Present at the summit is actor, activist, author and 2017 TIME Person of the Year, Terry Crews. Crews will share his own experiences of confronting the pervasive culture of toxic masculinity and will be part of a panel discussion on the topic. Joining Crews on the panel is keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Flood, an internationally recognized researcher on men, masculinities, and violence prevention, and an activist and educator.
About Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters
For 35 years, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters has worked with shelter organizations in Alberta to help better serve women, children and seniors. For more information, visit: https://acws.ca/leading-change-summit-2019
