Annual Report 2000 - 2001 — UNPAC (Mb)

UN Platform for Action Committee (Manitoba)

Events with local and global significance for women have taken place this past year — and UNPAC was there!

Several UNPAC members went to New York last June to attend a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly entitled Women 2000: Gender, Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century. The purpose of this session was to evaluate the progress made by governments in implementing the Platform for Action signed at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Following the Special Session, UNPAC hosted a Beijing Plus 5 evening at the University of Winnipeg where those who attended the session shared their personal experiences and perspectives. The interesting and informative presentations touched on a wide range of topics, from the intricacies and frustrations of United Nations’ negotiations, to the difficulties encountered by a nursing mother because babies were banned from the meeting, and what to say to an international arms dealer seated next to you on an airplane. The UNPAC presenters were Deborah Stienstra, Brenda Maxwell, Irene McKenzie, Babs Friesen, Stella LeJohn. Also speaking were Justice Shiranee Tilakawandane of the Court of Appeals in Sri Lanka, and Linda Anyaegbu, a Nigerian student living in New York. Linda is the author of a book about Nigerian women and the Beijing Platform for Action; she was referred to UNPAC because of our work on Beijing Plus 5, and UNPAC sponsored her to attend this meeting. The meeting was also an opportunity for UNPAC to release its’ Beijing Plus 5 Final Report, which looks at the progress made by the Manitoba Government in implementing the Platform for Action in the areas of women’s health, poverty, and violence against women.

In February, several members of UNPAC met with the Hon. Diane McGifford and members of the Women’s Directorate and the Women’s Advisory Council to discuss our Beijing Plus 5 Final Report. The Minister’s response to our report is included in this Annual Report.

The Women’s March to eradicate poverty and violence against women took place in Winnipeg on September 17. UNPAC members walked under our banner: Looking at the World Through Women’s Eyes. The national Women’s March took place in Ottawa on October 15, and the international march took place in New York on October 17. UNPAC members Nancy Buchanan, Robby Simpson, and Stella LeJohn were at the New York march.

UNPAC was represented at several roundtable meetings, including one in Ottawa for NGO and government representatives in preparation for the UN Special Session; a Manitoba Women’s Advisory Council roundtable on Violence Prevention: Programs and Services for Girls and Young Women, and a National Liberal Women’s Caucus roundtable on the concerns of Manitoba women.

On behalf of UNPAC, Muriel Smith and Nancy Buchanan attended a FAFIA (Feminist Alliance For International Action) Implementation Strategies Think-Tank in Ottawa to identify ways to pressure government to implement the Platform for Action and other international documents.

In keeping with our mandate to work with other groups towards attaining equality for women, UNPAC supports the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba and was a contributor to The Future of Child Care in Manitoba conference held at the Manitoba Legislature in November. UNPAC also contributed towards sponsoring attendees to the Western Canada Poor People’s Conference held in Winnipeg in October, and GETT Camp 2001 (Girls Exploring Trades and Technology). UNPAC was an endorser of the Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence Action Plan for Women’s Health.

UNPAC members are world travellers: we have had a report and slide presentation by Brenda Maxwell on her trip to India, and we have heard from Gisèle Saurette-Roch who attended the World Social Forum in Brazil. We are planning to hear from Gisèle, and others, who attended the recent People’s Summit of the Americas in Quebec City.

On March 8 (International Women’s Day), Muriel Smith, a dedicated, longtime member of UNPAC, was recognized by UNIFEM Canada, the national committee for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, when she received the UNIFEM Canada Award in Ottawa. We were all very pleased to see Muriel honoured in this way.

Promoting Economic Literacy for Women, UNPAC’s current project, will soon be underway. We are looking forward to working with the Project Manager, Jennifer deGroot, on this ambitious project. A description of the project is contained in this Annual Report.

Once again, we are grateful to Mary Scott for keeping up the UNPAC website and keeping us up-to-date on current happenings at home and abroad through her very informative Snippets.

At this year’s Annual General Meeting, the Coordinating Group of UNPAC will be recommending to the general membership that UNPAC meet monthly at the University Women’s Club. The focus of these monthly meetings would alternate between local and global themes. It is hoped that this format would better enable UNPAC to keep “on top” of current issues and to address concerns as they arise in an integrated, collective and effective manner. We are in for an exciting year!

Roberta (Robby) Simpson
Chair

UNPAC GLOBAL ANNUAL REPORT

Co-Chairs: Liz Sarin and Brenda Maxwell

Global has had a challenging, varied but productive year. September started off with a program which had members participating in a review of the UN General Assembly’s Beijing+5 held in New York in June. Each person made a quick study of the materials relating to one of the 12 critical areas from folders of material downloaded from the Web, and many related the issues to the local scene (Louisa and the plight of young women on the street here in Winnipeg). It was noted that concern for older women, women with mental health problems and women with HIV/AIDS were important new concerns.

Another noteworthy program was held in March with the opportunity to hear from and enter into dialogue with Shahina Saddiqui, an articulate local Muslim woman. Shahina very graciously shared her life story and pointed out how we should view Islam separately from government actions in countries with Muslim majorities. Her own faith has been based on extensive personal reading of the Koran and its interpretive texts after she had become an adult and come to Canada as she attended a Catholic School in Pakistan and did not wear the hijab.

Three projects were undertaken: in the fall, a questionnaire on health, poverty and domestic violence was developed, circulated to all Manitoba electoral candidates and the results published in Snippets. Another project involved a discussion on gender-based analysis and genuine progress indicators (GPI). A letter with the GPI indicator list was sent to provincial ministers and a very positive response received from Premier Doer saying the Government had been studying the list and was planning to use a similar set of indicators. The third project is just being launched: a proposal was submitted to the Co-ordinating Committee to develop a CD-ROM and/or an interactive web page on women’s economic literacy, starting with the personal experiences of a representative group of Manitoba women. A sub-committee was struck by the Co-ordinating Committee to advance the project.

Action was undertaken through faxes/letters. One was sent to the Nigerian Ambassador to Canada and Head of State in Nigeria on the flogging of a young woman for alleged “fornication”. Another was sent to the Prime Minister asking for a Human Rights resolution condemning the Chinese Government’s persecution of the Falun Dafa meditation movement in China and alleged interference with such groups here in Canada.

Members regularly report on relevant activities they are involved with. These included: Gender and Information/Communications Technology (Mary), the War-Affected Children Conference (Bunny, Mary, Muriel and others) and the Women’s March in September (Babs, Gisèle, Muriel, Mary and others), the Poor Peoples Conference (Gisèle) and the Pearson Peacekeeping Conference (Margaret) in October, the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre in January (Gisèle), updates on Burmese women refugee camps (Rosy), the Jubilee projects on aboriginal land rights (Audrey and Joyce), the Sudanese Government’s continued oppression of civilians in the South (Margaret), Canadian women’s FAFIA activities (Muriel) and the 2001 Commission on Status of Women activities in New York (Brenda).

Global had a wonderful potluck Christmas party, celebrated Manju Lodha’s Art Display at the University of Winnipeg — a series of splendid water colours and poems on the life of the Buddha’s mother — and Muriel’s UNIFEM award.

Global has 46 members, many of whom receive minutes but do not attend. While there are a few dropping out each year, there are also some new younger members who are injecting new energy and perspectives. Attendance at monthly meetings averages 10-12. The setting is informal but a fair bit of work does get done and the meetings serve as a valuable clearing-house for awareness raising and information.

Electronic Communications

Mary Scott

UNPAC (MB) has been an active user of electronic communications since the organization was first formed at the time of the 4th World Conference in Beijing. Preparations for the conference were supported by accessing information, documents, workshop agendas etc. from the internet. During the Conference, daily reports were sent back to Winnipeg from Beijing. A Workshop Alice in Cyberland was sponsored by UNPAC in 1998 which promoted women’s leaning and using electronic communications. One of the outcomes of that workshop was the Power Up training sessions now offered by the Manitoba Government to women in the Province.

Much use of the internet is made by members and particularly the Global Outreach Committee. This has grown extensively both in the numbers of members who are now “on line” and the quantity of messages which are exchanged, yet recognizing that not all members have access to computers, or the time or skills to use the medium.

Two issues continue in the community related to the use of the internet - one being women’s access to computers and secondly training required to use the equipment. UNPAC has continued to advocate on behalf of women to some degree in both these areas, with some success. The recent announcement of Community Connections list several sights that will be accessible for women only - the Women’s Health Centre and the Brandon Women’s Resource Centre for example. There will be 40 public access sites downtown in Winnipeg.

Snippetts continues to be well used by members of UNPAC with approximately 85 current users. Snippetts is a compendium of information that comes from various sources - on a variety of topics of interest to members such as Health, UN activities, local activities, Peace etc. It’s an excellent way to gain support quickly for local and global initiatives such as the Beijing +5, the World March of Women, the FTAA in Quebec and the current campaign for increased support for Child Care. Much of the information comes from members themselves or from listservs. It goes out generally twice a month and we are now up to #133.

The home page has been maintained, and we continue to get inquiries internationally because people are interested. At this point we are registering 10, 640 visitors to our site since 1997. We are very fortunate to be able to have our home page hosted by the former Freenet server, which is being maintained out at the University. There has been no cost for this service.

Letter from Minister Responsible for the Status of Women

Legislative Building
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
R3C 0V8

Ms Roberta Simpson, Chair
UN Platform for Action Committee (Manitoba)
PO Box 36 Station L
Winnipeg MB R3H 0Z4

Dear Ms Simpson:

Thank you for providing me with a copy of your final report: Review of Manitoba’s Implementation of the United Nations Platform for Action. The recommendations are wide-ranging and address many of the challenges and realities affecting the lives of Manitoba women. I enjoyed our recent meeting with you and the opportunity to hear you elaborate upon your concerns.

As you know, Government must choose its priorities — those areas and specific initiatives where it wants, and is able, to make a difference. Many of your recommendations speak directly to our priorities such as creating a health care system that is accessible to all Manitobans and recognizes the needs of a diverse population. We also recognize the important role that education plays in determining our economic well being and have set greater and more equitable access to post secondary education as one of our highest priorities. This area, too, is prominent among your recommendations. Ending violence against women is also a goal we share, as demonstrated by our commitment to improving Manitoba’s shelter system and introducing legislation such as the Victim’s Bill of Rights.

As discussed at our meeting, incorporating gender-inclusive analysis as a systematic and integral part of the development of legislation, policy and programs is a priority of mine as Minister responsible for the Status of Women.

I am pleased to be able to tell you that a report on Manitoba’s compliance with the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women is done every two years. The report is prepared by the Human Rights Commission of Manitoba, under the direction of Manitoba Justice.

Enclosed, as promised, are written comments highlighting government’s efforts as they pertain to recommendations you have made. They have been grouped in line with your own identified three critical areas of public policy: health, poverty and violence against women.

As agreed at our meeting, I look forward to meeting with you next year at which time I hope to be joined by other ministers who have direct accountability for issues raised in your report.

Sincerely,

Diane McGifford
Minister

Enclosure

RESPONSE TO UNPAC FINAL REPORT ON HEALTH, POVERTY AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Women and Health

A number of initiatives/programs have been introduced and/or improved that speak to the recommendations included in the report on Women’s Health. These include:

• Improvements to the Northern Patient Transportation program and the Lifeflight Program, which enable Manitobans from, isolated areas to seek treatment in Winnipeg.
• Funding was provided for 26 midwives to be employed during this fiscal year by Regional Health Authorities. To date, 5 RHA’s have done so, and others are planning to hire midwives in the new fiscal year.
• The Manitoba Cervical Cancer Screening Program is scheduled to become operational in April 2001, with a view to reduce morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer.
• Concerns regarding the Breast Cancer Screening program were discussed at the meeting and included a recommended increase of services through the addition of two mobile units (in addition to the two which are now in service) to travel throughout Manitoba to bring the services to rural and isolated areas.
• Participation by women on RHA Boards has increased to 40%. During our discussions regarding women’s health, a proposed action plan by the Women’s Directorate, to inform women of the process of seeking appointments to RHA’s was outlined: a mail-out to women’s organizations with procedures for nominations, applications, etc., along with an article in the About Women Newsletter regarding the process, will be done next fall.
Back to Top of Page
• A number of recommendations referred to the use of a population health model by Manitoba Health. This model has been embraced by the department, including the adoption of gender as a determinant of health, and will be used in working with RHA’s and the community, to determine the development and delivery of programs which address the needs of Manitobans, which includes the development of community health services such as pre- and post-natal services, etc.
• Health Curricula have been developed by Manitoba Education and Training, for use by School Boards, that include sex education, reproductive health services, body image and self esteem. However, use of curricula is determined by the local School Board.
• Work has already begun to incorporate gender inclusive analysis into development of health programming, with the needs assessment personnel from RHA’s participation in a training workshop presented by the Women’s Directorate. This work will be ongoing within Health organizations, including Manitoba Health.
• A Manitoba Women’s Health Strategy Discussion Paper has been developed by Manitoba Health, in partnership with the Manitoba Women’s Directorate, and has been endorsed by both ministries. The purpose of the strategy is to ensure the health status of women is addressed in a co-ordinated, sustainable, equitable and gender-sensitive manner.
• In addition, our government is maintaining a home care program with no co-payment or limit on amount of services, and a Pharmacare program to limit the cost of drugs and medicines.

Women and Poverty

Government has chosen, as one of its priorities, to provide increased funding to those who need it most, as demonstrated by such initiatives as Building Independence, Neighbourhoods Alive, and the Healthy Child Initiatives. All of these, as well as many of the Education spending priorities are designed to help Manitobans move toward economic independence.

Minimum Wage:

• The Department of Labour has committed to a regular examination of the minimum wage through the Minimum Wage Review Board. The Government has recently announced an increase in the minimum wage, from $6.00 to $6.25

Child Care:

• Early Child Development is a top priority for the Government of Manitoba:
• Budget, 2000: $13 million to the Healthy Child Initiative, $9.1
• million increase in Day Care funding to provide:
• Improved salaries for early childhood educators,
• 500 more subsidized licensed child care spaces
• Accommodation for more children with disabilities in the system

National Child Benefit Supplement:

• Elimination of the clawback of the increase in the National Child Benefit Supplement was announced in the 1999/00 budget (effective July 1, 2000). As further increases in the benefit occur, they will not be subjected to the clawback.

Employment and Income Assistance:

• Increase of $20/month/child for families with children six years and younger
• Increase of $20/year/child for school supplies
• Increase in earnings exemption levels for single parents and general assistance participants
• Elimination of the clawback of the increase in the National Child Benefit Supplement.
• Announced $400,000 to establish a community-based Career Action Pathing Centre to support EIA participants to overcome barriers to employment.
• The move to enhance employability and employment opportunities offers EIA recipients a way out of dependency. The increases in supports for children under six, for school supplies, and, especially the increase in earnings exemption and elimination of the clawback, mark a substantive increase to supports for EIA recipients.
• The Employment Insurance benefits have been enhanced to match the federal legislation provisions for parental leave.

Family Services and Housing:

• Family Services introduced the Building Independence program, which offers opportunities to Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) participants who are looking for work and wanting to participate meaningfully in their communities. This strategy will grow as we work to build our communities and help provide people with the tools they need to achieve their goals. Building Independence Strategy will connect job-seeking individuals with links to employment training, job placement programs, job readiness assessments, childcare, voice mail services, contacts with support agencies within the community.

Building Independence will:

• Include GED preparation and writing, personal development, career planning, and basic computer familiarization.
• The person’s skills will be matched with jobs that provide enough income to support mothers and their families, thus providing families and individuals with choices so that they may decide the path they wish to follow.

Manitoba Education and Training:

• Employment and Training Services (ETS) provides access to employment and training services to all Manitobans under the Canada Manitoba Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA). As well, ETS delivers services specifically geared to EIA clients by funding community-based programs designed primarily for women. One of ETS’ primary goals is to assist individuals to secure “sustainable employment”.
• ETS is currently involved in a joint evaluation project designed to look at programs and services delivered under the LMDA. ETS has also begun to look at the effectiveness of provincially funded programs and services. In both of these undertaking, consideration will be given to analysis based on gender and income sources.
• A Job Links Strategy is being undertaken to enhance services to all EIA participants by strengthening linkages between the area in government responsible for income assistance and the area responsible for employment training support to all unemployed Manitobans. Staff in both areas will be better able to advise women on income assistance of all options open to them.

Access to Advanced Education:

• The Manitoba Learning Tax Credit allows students and supporting individuals a tax credit for 7% of the total of the education amount and eligible tuition fees to a maximum of $700 per student. The program contributes about $15 million annually in education support to Manitoba students and their families.
• Effective in the 1998/99 budget year, $1.6 was directed toward two new programs, the Interest Relief Program and the Debt Reduction Program. The Interest Relief program can provide up to 54 months of interest payments throughout the lifetime of a student loan. Debt Reduction is a program designed to address the concerns of students who continue to experience financial difficulties five years after their studies have ended and for whom interest Relief has been exhausted.

• In its 2000/01 budget, the Manitoba Government reduced tuition fees for Universities and Community Colleges by 10%.
• The 2000 Provincial Budget provided for the creation of the Manitoba Bursary, which together with Canada Millennium Scholarship Bursaries (CMS), will help reduce student loan debt to approximately $6,000 per year for most students. Manitoba’s $5.9 million bursary together with the CMS $11 million, will assist approximately 5,500 Manitoba Student Financial Assistance recipients in 2000/2001.
• A new federal program, the Canada Study Grant (CSG) for students with dependants, was introduced for the 1998/99 budget year. Under this program, full-time students assessed with a need in excess of the $275 per week provided by CSL/MSL programs, can qualify for extra assistance of $40 per week if they have one or two dependants, or $60 per week if they have three or more dependants. Likewise, similar assistance, up to a maximum of $1,920 per year, can be available to part-time students whose needs exceed the $5,200 provided by a combination of the CSG for high-need, part-time students and a Canada Student Loan for part-time students.
• The province continues to work with the federal government to move towards the harmonization of their programs to provide students with a single loan product and a simplified process for students.
• The 1998 Federal Budget provided for the creation of the Canada Millennium Scholarships to high need student financial assistance recipients. Manitoba’s annual allocation is $11 million, which will be used to reduce the student loan debt of approximately 3500 Manitoba students Financial Assistance program recipients. Awards average $3,000 and will be issued beginning January, 2000. There is a 10-year federal commitment to the Canada Millennium Scholarships.

Manitoba Women’s Directorate:

• The Manitoba Women’s Directorate is piloting a group Mentoring Program for women who are considering and/or are already involved in running their own business. The program is intended to help women increase the profitability of their businesses. Sessions are held monthly in the downtown area, near bus routes and are free.
• The Women’s Directorate, in partnership with MB Education and Training, Employment Services, the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters, and Tec-Voc High School is offering a second project of Trade Up to Your Future, a pre-trades employment training program for women. Of the fourteen women who graduated from the program last year, all were employed at wages ranging from $8 to $14 per hour, with virtually guaranteed increases in wages after three months.
• The Women’s Directorate is currently working with Manitoba Finance, Manitoba Justice, Human Resources Development Canada, and Canada Pension Plan officials, to develop a means of effectively operationalizing the compulsory credit splitting of the Canada Pension Plan. CPP provides for mandatory credit splitting between the separating and/or divorcing spouses. Currently, one of the spouses has to apply for a split so that HRDC has the information required to effect the split. Increasing the take-up of credit splitting on marriage breakdown will help to alleviate the poverty of many older women.
• The Training for Tomorrow Scholarship Awards program was developed by the Directorate to encourage women to enter high skills training in 2-year diploma programs in maths/science/technology related courses leading to employment in high demand occupations. It provides fifty $1,000 scholarships for recipients who are registered in eligible courses at the province’s community colleges. Training in the eligible courses will equip young women to seek career-oriented employment in jobs, which will give them economic self-sufficiency.
• The Power Up computer training program is intended to promote the importance of technology for women in today’s society / marketplace and to provide training in a non-threatening environment that will build computer and Internet skills for adult women. The 5-week, 15-hour course introduces participants to basic word processing, Internet access, and use of e-mail. Close to 4000 women have taken, or are currently enrolled in, a Power Up course. Almost exactly half of these women are in Winnipeg, and half in rural Manitoba.

Violence Against Women

Family Services:

Shelters:

The funding model has been changed. Since 1992/93, funds allocated for shelters area combination of:

1. A Family Violence Prevention Branch (FVPB) grant, paid directly to shelters, for various services;
2. Per diems, from Employment and Income Assistance, for individuals accessing shelter services; and
3. A facility grant, transferred directly between Family Services and Housing, to cover shelters’ rental, maintenance, taxes, and space needs.

There have been consistent increases in funding for shelter staff over the years. From 1999/00 to 200/01, FVPP agencies received an overall funding increase of 4.5%. In 2000, the following was accomplished:

• May 2000, budget allocated a 2% increase to salaries for shelters, women’s resource centres and second stage housing retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year.
• June 2000, 2% increase to Shelter and Women’s Safe Haven per diems which brings the rate in the south to $26.70 and $28.04 in the north.
• June 2000, all agencies received additional funds for staff benefits and pensions. Funding levels for mandatory benefits (CPP, EI and WCB) are now at 7%, vacation pay is at 6% and the pension benefit is 3.5%, retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year.
• The total of the Family Services and Housing 2000/01 budget dedicated to violence issues was approximately $7 million. This does not include the substantial budget from Justice which includes funds for the Women’s Advocacy Program, the costs of Family Violence Court, programs for offenders, Legal Aid Victims’ Assistance, etc.

Shelters in small Communities:

• The FVPP funds 10 shelters across Manitoba, one in each region and two in the city of Winnipeg. A province-wide toll-free crisis line will connect a woman to the shelter nearest to her in order to facilitate access.
• There is also an Aboriginal toll-free crisis line that can address any cultural or linguistic barriers for Aboriginal women trying to access shelter services.
• - In addition to the ten shelters, Flin Flon is home to the Women’s Safe Haven Resource Centre, which also offers a protected environment for women and their children seeking shelter.
• Shelters receive funds specifically earmarked for enhanced accessibility. This can include transportation, assistance with children, communication costs, and relocation costs. Employment and Income Assistance reimburses the shelters for the direct costs associated with transporting a woman and her children from her home community to a safe home or shelter.
• Regarding safe homes in smaller communities, there are concerns about the lack of confidentiality and safety for both the person seeking shelter and the safe homeowner. Some women from small northern communities have expressed that they do not wish to have a shelter within their own communities due to these issues.

Lavoie:

The Lavoie Inquiry final report contains 91 recommendations. Of these recommendations 73 are directed to the provincial government. The Lavoie Review Committee reviewed each of the 73 recommendations directed at the provincial government through 14 working groups. Nearly every recommendation has been implemented. Only a couple of recommendations were not implemented, and these were at the consensus of the working committees.

Justice:

Offenders:

• Manitoba Corrections’ policy is that every offender convicted of an offence that involves partner abuse is required to participate in a five day program which challenges the values and thinking of the offender. In remote areas this may not always materialize, but the intent remains that each offender will attend a program if at all possible.
• In order to provide programming to all offenders, community agencies are contacted to facilitate the standard program for probationers. In Winnipeg, the program has been adapted for immigrants convicted of partner abuse.
• To recognize cultural diversity, the program was designed for offenders with varied ethnic backgrounds.
• For those offenders who are serving a long enough sentence (at least 6 months) and are assessed to be a high risk to re-offend, they are directed to the 10-week comprehensive program.
• For those who are in custody and refuse to attend and/or participate in the required program, policy directs that they will fail to earn remission (results in detention for a longer period of time). In an effort to provide better protection for the female victims, policy requires that the victim be notified in advance of any release or immediately upon escape.

Training for Judges, Police, etc.:

• All newly appointed Provincial Court Judges attend a 7-day education seminar coordinated by the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges. Included on the curricula are sessions on topics such as gender sensitivity, and aboriginal offenders.
• There is in place in Manitoba a judicial education program, which includes a minimum of 6 days per year in-house. The educational program includes family violence modules. Judges attend other conferences and seminars as available.
• Judicial education is run by an Education Committee of the judges.
• Since the Schulman report into the deaths of the Lavoies, the Government has provided extra funding for education in the area of family violence, both domestic violence and child abuse.
• The Government does not and cannot mandate education or put in place a quality assurance program for the judiciary. To do so would violate judicial independence.
• Crown prosecutors have time and budget allocated for training, which includes training and information on the causes of domestic violence, the impact on victims, and many specialized areas relating to this issue. All Crowns working in the Family Violence Court take this training.
• Both the Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP have mandatory training regarding family violence issues. RESOLVE has undertaken to offer all Winnipeg Police Service personnel mandatory one-day training and information on family violence issues.

Education and Training:

• In 2000, Manitoba Education created a new Framework of Outcomes for K-S4 Physical Education/Health Education. It includes a General Learning Outcome titled Safety that addresses areas such as violence prevention and personal safety including sexual abuse/exploitation. The curriculum focuses on the development of personal and social management skills that include interpersonal skills, conflict resolution/mediation skills, avoidance/refusal skills, and stress management skills for developing healthy relationships.
• All health topics are compulsory. For potentially sensitive content (i.e. personal safety, substance use and abuse prevention, and human sexuality), school divisions are required to use a planning process that includes parental involvement and a parental option before implementation. Depth and breadth treatment of content is a local decision.
• There are also optional resource materials that may be used by schools at their local discretion. Since the early 90’s there have been optional curricula in the Health area on Violence Against Women for grades 5 - 8 and S1 to S4. Another resource is the Canadian Red Cross Abuse Prevention Services. Adolescents are the target population, all types of maltreatment are addressed, and intensive training is given to volunteer presenters.
• Anti-racism, anti-harassment, and anti-sexism policies are well founded within the school system and cover areas such as textbook selection. One of the values that Manitoba Education stands for is the policy to avoid gender stereotypes. For example, within the PE/HE Framework, there are outcomes related to the effects of stereotyping and promotion of acceptance of others.
• There are no specific policies in effect regarding homophobia; however, anti-harassment policies within schools should prevent any form of harassment due to sexual orientation.

Women’s Directorate:

• The Manitoba Women’s Directorate, on behalf of the Government of Manitoba, participated in creating the Federal-Provincial/Territorial document Preventing Violence Against Women: A Strategic Framework. The Ministers responsible for the Status of Women recognized that a strong, coordinated approach, based on strategies and initiatives that work, is required to counter violence against women. The document was developed as a vision and a guide in this ongoing work. Included are examples of best practices and innovative anti-violence programs from all the jurisdictions - provinces, territories, and the federal government.

Gender Based Analysis

As part of its mandate to promote women’s equal participation in society and the workplace, the Manitoba Women’s Directorate seeks to identify and address differential impacts on women related to policies and programs.

In addition, the Women’s Directorate has developed a training program to assist program developers and policy-makers in government departments with the implementation of a gender-inclusive analytic approach.

The aim of the training is to help departments integrate GIA into their programs, services, and legislation thereby ensuring that they serve Manitoba’s women and men more equitably.

To-date the Directorate has offered both general and group-specific training workshops to civil servants and is assisting in raising awareness of the importance of incorporating a gendered perspective into the Community Health Needs Assessments of Regional Health Authorities.

The Directorate carries out gender inclusive analyses of proposed legislation, policies and programs in consultation with departments.

UNPAC’s NEW PROJECT:

Promoting Economic Literacy for Women

The project is based on the Beijing Platform for Action, which states: There are considerable differences in women’s and men’s access to and opportunities to exert power over economic structures in their societies… the actual development of these economic structures and policies has a direct impact on women’s and men’s access to economic resources, their economic power and consequently the extent of equality between them at the individual and family levels as well as in society as a whole.

…Women contribute to development not only through remunerated work but also through a great deal of unremunerated work… this work is often not measured in quantitative terms and is not valued in national accounts.

The project’s action plan includes:

1. A participatory research component focussed on gathering information from a range of individual women (young women, immigrant women, aboriginal women, disabled women, older women) which reflects the realities of their economic situations and gives them a chance to express how they see themselves fitting into “the economy”. The womens’ stories will be video-taped.
2. The video-taped stories will be combined with video-taped discussions and commentary on various economic themes and trends, including definitions of work (including unpaid work), economic progress indicators (including “Genuine Progress Indicators”), explanations of the roles played by the Bank of Canada, international trade organizations, NGOs, etc.
3. The video-taped information will be used to produce an interactive website and a CD- ROM, with workbook, which will help women to see the linkages between their daily lives and the economy, de-mystify economic theory, and empower women to develop their capacities for analysis and inclusion in economic decision-making.

For more information on this project, contact Jennifer deGroot at 779-8594, e-mail: jenniferdegroot@yahoo.ca

Coordinating Group Members, 2000 - 2001