Released on December 6, 2006
December 6 is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women."Today is a day for everyone to reflect on what they can do to help end violence against women and girls," Minister responsible for the Status of Women Joan Beatty said.
The National Day of Remembrance was established in 1991, two years after 14 female engineering students were murdered at Montreal's l'Ecole Polytechnique.
"Violence and abuse in any form is unacceptable," Beatty said. "But the magnitude of the challenge we face is illustrated by the fact that Saskatchewan has the third highest rate of spousal assault in Canada."
According to the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, nearly half the victims of violent crime are women and in approximately three-quarters of cases the woman knows her attacker.
"Dealing with violence against women will require initiatives as comprehensive as the problem of violence itself," Beatty said. "Our goal is a society where no one is forced to live in fear of violence."
Saskatchewan funds several programs to address violence against women, including shelters for women and children, sexual assault counselling and treatment for abusers.
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For More Information, Contact:
| Nadine Sisk Labour Regina Phone: 306-787-4156 Email: nsisk@lab.gov.sk.ca Cell: 306-530-1930 |