IN THIS ISSUE:
- N.B. WOMEN'S INCOME FROM ALL SOURCES: 66% OF MEN'S
- NOTICES
- NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME AWARENESS WEEK 2012: A SUCCESS IN EVERY WAY!
- HANDS UP FOR THE FIRST DAY OF THE GIRL!
- WELL, THANKS FOR TRYING, PROFESSOR KORETSKY
- SUICIDE AND THE GENDER PARADOX
- WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
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N.B. WOMEN'S INCOME FROM ALL SOURCES: 66% OF MEN'S
Of the 300,450 females in N.B. who have income, their median income was $21,130 in 2009. The 283,000 males with income had $32,040 – 66% (includes, if any, employment earnings, investment income, pension income, social assistance, etc.).
In 2000, females' income from all sources was 62% of male's.
- Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 111-0008, bit.ly/QZAtDk .
NOTICES
Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Training – For service providers, those working with people affected by sexual assault, and those who have felt under-prepared when someone has disclosed a sexual assault or who wish to meet other service providers in the field. Group discussions, reflective exercises, role plays. Myths and Realities of Sexual Assault, Trauma, Medical and Legal Info, Common Feelings and Effects, Childhood Sexual Assault/Abuse, Crisis Intervention Models, Vicarious Trauma and Burnout. $300 for government and private organizations. 24-28 Sept 2012, Fredericton. $200 for non-profit organizations. Includes materials, CD of all training materials, & N.B. Resource and Referral List. Register by 31 Aug 2012. [email protected] ; 452.6986.
What Are You Doing October 11, 2012? – That's when the world celebrates the “International Day of the Girl Child” for the first time. Declared by the U.N. because “empowerment & investment in girls are critical for economic growth, the eradication of poverty, & to break the cycle of discrimination & violence”. Tell us what you're planning: [email protected] . Info: http://bit.ly/M3xoxH ; http://bit.ly/Mmjk1V ; http://bit.ly/N0Db5Q ; http://bit.ly/M5R6Lm ; http://bit.ly/NHfe9N ; http://bit.ly/KfYYFM
The Story of Change - 7 minute video by Annie Leonard, who did The Story of Stuff, The Story of Cosmetics etc. Now: Why citizens, not shoppers, hold the key to a better world, Includes a quiz to see what kind of change maker you are. http://bit.ly/MZCvhy
The Gender Trap - CBC Ideas programs. Part 1: For 20 years we've been hearing the claims: males & females have different brains. Some neuroscientists and psychologists believe this leads to unhealthy stereotyping. IDEAS producer Mary O'Connell explores the debate . http:// bit.ly/P9FWGV .. Pt 2: Only 9 people know whether baby Storm, of Toronto, is a boy or a girl. The parents believe that gender, more than race and class, constricts individual identity. When the story of Storm became public, controversy ensued. http:// bit.ly/OfVbMX
A Day Without Childcare - Video produced in the U.S. June 2012 provides a hilarious look at what life might be like if child care disappeared. http://goo.gl/vF3Qc
Motherhood In The Cross-Hairs: The Social And Moral Regulation Of Women's Mother - Qualitative Lecture and Workshop, Fredericton, 28-29 Sept 2012. Atlantic Centre for Qualitative Research and Analysis. Keynote & workshop presenter: Dr. Claudia Malacrida from Univ. of Lethbridge. Friday Sept 28 lecture is open to public and free. You must pre-register for Saturday workshop, http:// bit.ly/PTli9C
Regress Trumps Progress: Canadian Women, Feminism And The Harper Government – A 6-page report by Sylvia Bashevkin, Professor of Political Science at U. of Toronto for the German institute, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, July 2012. Canadian women achieved measurable gains under a series of federal governments from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Conservative minority governments since 2006 have moved crucial equality markers backward, but in a deliberately under-the-radar manner. http:// bit.ly/Pgjzz5
NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME AWARENESS WEEK 2012: A SUCCESS IN EVERY WAY!
For a third year, the Table de concertation pour contrer la violence conjugale et familiale dans la Péninsule acadienne (TCCVCFPA) Inc. held activities, in conjunction with National Victims of Crime Awareness Week (NVCAW), in late April. With the assistance of the Department of Justice Canada and our financial partners, we were able to organize several activities to increase public awareness on this issue.
Dominique Breau, Acadian storyteller and artist, kindly agreed to be our honorary chair for NVCAW 2012. He attended all the activities and helped to educate people about victims of violence.
The NVCAW 2012 began with a Rallye Tropical Plus at the Centre de Benoit, with proceeds going to Accueil Sainte-Famille in Tracadie-Sheila. It helped to raise awareness among participants, since the Silent Witnesses were in attendance. The ballet is inspired by the stories of the Silent Witnesses - women who were murdered by their partner or former partner. People received brochures and information about services for victims of violence, and we made sure to add a category of questions on violence. Over $700 will be given to Accueil Sainte-Famille.
We also held a breakfast, where information booths were set-up and a community radio station had a live broadcast from Tazza Caffe in Shippagan. Several intervenors who offer services to victims and their families and friends met with people and spoke on the radio to raise awareness. We launched the website contrelaviolence.com during this activity.
For the first time in the Acadian Peninsula, the internationally recognized Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada presented the ballet Ghosts of Violence at the Centre
Culturel de Caraquet. The $30 admission made it very accessible.
The TCCVCFPA, in conjunction with the Comité aviseur en matière d'agression sexuelle de la Péninsule acadienne, organized two days of training entitled Les manipulateurs et leurs victimes (manipulators and their victims). It was offered by Isabelle Nazare-Aga, author of the books Les manipulateurs sont parmi nous and Les manipulateurs et l'amour, and was attended by 75 people. Isabelle Nazare-Aga has been working in her own office in Paris since 1990. She specializes in behavioural and cognitive therapy for assertiveness and self-esteem groups. She also facilitates “Faire face aux manipulateurs” (facing manipulators) seminars to assist victims of manipulators and psychological harassment. Outside of her professional training, Isabelle NAZARE-AGA's personal path has always been guided by an entrepreneurial passion and a desire for discovery.
Ms. Nazare-Aga also gave a free public presentation in Caraquet, entitled Les manipulateurs sont parmi nous (the manipulators are among us), which was attended by over 120 people. Link to Ms. Nazare-Aga's web page: http:// bit.ly/QxlMTJ
HANDS UP FOR THE FIRST DAY OF THE GIRL!
After a successful campaign led by Plan Canada's Because I am a Girl initiative (and thanks to your help!), the United Nations has declared October 11 the International Day of the Girl Child! This day will create a foundation to advocate and recognize girls' rights globally.
We are using the first-ever Day of the Girl to shine a light on the importance of girls' education. Sadly, millions of children don't go to school just because they are girls. We know educated girls marry later, have children later, and are more able to pull themselves and their communities out of poverty. We're working to educate 4 million girls through the Because I am a Girl initiative, and we need your help.
Raise your hand for girls' education.
Children raise their hand if they want to be heard. Around the world, a raised hand is a symbol for education and the empowerment that comes with it. So, raise your hand if you believe every girl deserves an education.
Add your picture to Because I am a Girl's online photo petition. Tell the United Nations to put girls' education at the top of the global agenda! Plan Canada's goal is to collect a minimum of 120,000 photos with ‘hands up' to support girls' education globally.
Take a photo of yourself, your friends or your family with your hand raised in the air. Add your photo to our “Hands up for girls” Flickr page. Upload your photo below or e-mail your photo to [email protected] , and we will post it for you. (photos in JPG file format and file size less than 3MB)
- http:// bit.ly/NHfe9N Raise your Hand: http://plancanada.ca/page.aspx?pid=4856
WELL, THANKS FOR TRYING, PROFESSOR KORETSKY
In June 1947, the UN's Drafting Committee on an International Bill of Human Rights held a meeting in its marathon month of meetings to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Women were mentioned twice, both times by Professor Vladimir M. Koretsky of USSR (the other time, he opposed the phrasing “all men are created equal" because “men are only one half of the human species”).
Friday June 13, 1947: Prof. Koretsky said the ideas regarding discrimination as expressed in the drafts had not been developed sufficiently. There was wide evidence of the existence of discrimination in the world; the General Assembly itself had discussed, for ex., the treatment of Indians in South Africa. In his opinion it was not sufficient simply to proclaim the principle of equality or of non-discrimination; that idea must be implemented. Women were not yet treated with equality, neither in the economic field nor in the political field; 'nor were women elected in sufficient numbers to public office. He felt 'that it was insufficient to say that equality without regard to race, sex, language or religion should be proclaimed. Certain conditions, such as terrorism and certain forms of taxation, which had the effect of transforming equality into factual inequality, would have to be eliminated.
He felt that the question of essential rights and freedoms needed to be stressed more than they were in the present draft, and an acceptable and effective means of implementation would have to be devised. Such implementation, in his opinion, would not come through the creation of a Tribunal, an International Court or an international police force, because any such organ would be able to implement no more nor less than could be implemented by the separate governments. Prof. Koretsky stressed his belief that the approach of the Bill should be such as would make its acceptance possible under any and all social systems… Whatever is put into an International Bill of Rights must be implemented, he added, and there should be no reservations.
- Meeting 6: http:// bit.ly/MWpuet
SUICIDE AND THE GENDER PARADOX
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Canadians aged 15-24. Suicide rates in most regions of the world including Canada are higher in males. However the prevalence of non-fatal suicide-related behaviours - self-cutting or overdoses - is higher in girls than boys. The emergence of this gender paradox during adolescence in most countries suggests that the determinants differ for boys and girls. Proposed explanations include:
Cause of death misclassified - We looked at 1,294 suicides, 961 accidental and 254 undetermined deaths between 2000 & 2007 in Ontario. We reclassified causes of death based on research to help us detect possible errors. Sex differences in suicide rates still emerged in the 16-25 years age group. Gender differences in suicide rates are unlikely to be due to misclassification.
Boys and girls seek help differently - Females may have a greater willingness to seek help and discuss emotional problems. We linked Coroner's data to health care records (outpatient medical, emergency and inpatient) for young people who died by suicide. While about 80% had some contact with health care services in the year prior to death, females were more likely to have contact and a greater number of contacts but not specific to mental health for outpatient medical contact(s); in fact, for specific conditions presenting to the emergency department, males surpassed females. We cannot rule out this explanation but further study is needed.
Gender differences in child maltreatment - Research has documented an association between suicide attempts in children and physical and sexual abuse. Across studies the association between child sexual abuse and suicide attempts was stronger in boys than girls. It is possible that the nature, timing and sex of the perpetrator is particularly traumatic for boys, and shapes their disclosure of the abuse and thus, their help-seeking, placing them at greater risk of suicide. We cannot rule out this explanation as contributing to the gender paradox either.
Both explanations 2 (differences in help-seeking) and 3 (differences in child maltreatment) are plausible and explanation 3 may influence 2. Our team is examining these possibilities further.
-Anne Rhodes (U of Toronto) received a Methods and Measures for Gender, Sex and Health Catalyst Grant from the Institute of Gender and Health for "Access to Care for Suicidal Boys and Girls."
WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
Almost 20% of the world's parliamentary seats are now occupied by women, up from 17% five years ago. Nordic countries have the highest share of women in single or lower houses of parliament, averaging 42%. Europe, Africa and Asia follow with around 19-20% of total seats. Arab states trail behind, with less than 12% women parliamentarians, though quotas have helped increase representation, up from 9.5% five years ago. Of the 59 elections held last year around the world, 17 countries had quotas for women. Countries with quotas saw women gain 27% of seats, compared with only 16% in those without. Egypt, which has removed its quota, has one of the lowest shares of women parliamentarians at less than 2%.
-The Economist online, 9 May 2012.
IN PARTING
It's been my experience that many people live their lives thinking that they're respected, only to discover that they've been merely feared. And fears can be overcome.
• Constable Benton Fraser, character played by Paul Gross in Due South TV series, episode The Deal.
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Women Femmes NB
is sent out twice a month by the provincial government Women's Issues Branch. It provides news related to equality issues, including events, studies, initiatives and information from women's groups, governments, universities, etc.
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