Food insecurity in Canada is "a serious social and public health problem," says a report that found nearly one in eight Canadian households couldn't access sufficient, safe and nutritious food in 2011. The study said 3.9 million Canadians were affected and the 330,000 households that were "severely food insecure" were worried they would run out of food before being able to afford more. At a national level the number of people facing food insecurity is rising, she said, with 450,000 more Canadians affected in 2011 compared with 2008. **********************************************************
Trying to contact income assistance offices in B.C. is an exercise in
frustration for clients and those trying to help them, say advocates
working with social service clients.
“There have been constant problems getting through on the 1-866 number
and, in the past month, it has been virtually impossible,” said Kelly
Newhook, Together Against Poverty Society executive director. “They put
people on hold for an hour or more and then they cut people off.”
The story is repeated by people working on poverty issues from around B.C, Newhook said.
The same number is the main contact point for all income assistance clients in the province.
“TAPS can’t get a response from the ministry. We are not even getting
call backs from supervisors, and we are helping 10 to 15 people a day,”
she said.
In 2012-13, the B.C. Ombudsperson opened more files on complaints about
the Social Development Ministry than on any other area of the
government, according to its annual report.
An emailed statement from a ministry spokesperson said there was a problem, but it has been fixed.
“The ministry recently experienced temporary network connectivity
issues that resulted in longer than normal phone wait times including
call interruptions/disconnection,” he said.
The ministry recognizes that, at times, call volumes cause delays, he
said. New contact centre staff are being hired and trained.
Applications for income and disability assistance can be made online, he said. The website is www.iaselfserve.gov.bc.ca.
Matt Galloway spoke with Karen Arthurton and Lalo Lorza. They are with St. Stephen's Community House in Toronto, and are both contributors to a book produced by St. Stephen's called, "It's Not all Black and White: Multiracial Youth Speak Out". Listen(runs 5:42)
Anne Marie Nakagawa, (2005). National Film Board of Canada.
Anne Marie Nakagawa's documentary examines what it means to have a background of mixed ancestries that cannot be easily categorized. By focusing on 7 Canadians who have one parent from a European background and one of a visible minority, she attempts to get at the root of what it means to be multi-ethnic in a world that wants each person to fit into a single category.
Finding a satisfactory frame of reference in our 'multicultural utopia' turns out to be more complex than one might think.Between: Living in the Hyphen offers a provocative glimpse of what the future holds: a departure from hyphenated names towards a celebration of fluidity and being mixed.
"Rehtaeh
is gone today because of the four boys that thought that raping a 15-year-old
girl was OK and to distribute a photo to ruin her spirit and reputation would
be fun," her mother wrote.
"All the bullying and messaging and
harassment that never let up are also to blame.
Lastly, the justice system
failed her. Those are the people that took the life of my beautiful girl."
Progress on ending violence against women in Canada is stalled by the absence of a coherent national policy and consistent information about the levels of that violence says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
“The difficulty of collecting data about violence against women has been a barrier to progress in ending that violence,” says the study’s author, Kate McInturff. “However, the data that do exist tell us three things very clearly: this problem is big, it comes at a high cost, and we are making little or no progress in putting a stop to it.”
The study estimates the combined cost of adult sexual assault and intimate partner violence is $334 per person per year in Canada. This puts the cost of these crimes on par with the cost of the use of illegal drugs in Canada (an estimated $262 per person) or the cost of smoking (an estimated $541 per person). Federal public spending to address violence against women, on the other hand, amounted to $2.77 per person for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
The study makes several recommendations on how to improve the situation, including: the implementation of regular, sensitive, detailed surveys of incidence of sexual assault and intimate partner violence; and a coherent, coordinated, well-resourced national action plan to address violence against women.
More than one in three women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence, a report by the World Health Organization and other groups says.
It says 38% of all women murdered were killed by their partners, and such violence is a major contributor to depression and other health problems.
WHO head Margaret Chan said violence against women was "a global health problem of epidemic proportions".
The study also calls for toleration of such attacks worldwide to be halted.
And it says new guidelines must be adopted by health officials around the world to prevent the abuse and offer better protection to victims.
The key findings are:
violence by an intimate partner is the most common type of abuse, affecting 30% of women across the globe
38% of all women murdered were killed by their partners
42% of women physically or sexually abused by partners had injuries as a result
Victims of non-partner attacks were 2.6 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared with women who had not experienced violence
Those abused by their partners were almost twice as likely to have similar problems
Victims were more likely to have alcohol problems, abortions and acquire sexually transmitted diseases and HIV
"This new data shows that violence against women is extremely common," said report co-author Prof Charlotte Watts from the LSHTM.
"We urgently need to invest in prevention to address the underlying causes of this global women's health problem."
The document adds that "fear of stigma" prevents many women from reporting sexual violence.
It stresses that health officials around the world need to take the issue "more seriously", providing better training for health workers in recognising when women may be at risk of violence and ensuring an appropriate response.
Domestic violence against men isn't always easy to identify, but it can be a serious threat. Know how to recognize if you're being abused — and how to get help.
Domestic violence — also known as domestic abuse, battering or intimate partner violence — occurs between people in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence against men can take many forms, including emotional, sexual and physical abuse and threats of abuse. It can happen in heterosexual or same sex relationships.
It might not be easy to recognize domestic violence against men. Early in the relationship, your partner might seem attentive, generous and protective in ways that later turn out to be controlling and frightening. Initially, the abuse might appear as isolated incidents. Your partner might apologize and promise not to abuse you again.
In other relationships, domestic violence against men might include both partners slapping or shoving each other when they get angry — and neither partner seeing himself or herself as being abused or controlled. This type of violence, however, can still devastate a relationship, causing both physical and emotional damage.
You might be experiencing domestic violence if your partner:
Calls you names, insults you or puts you down
Prevents you from going to work or school
Stops you from seeing family members or friends
Tries to control how you spend money, where you go or what you wear
Acts jealous or possessive or constantly accuses you of being unfaithful
Gets angry when drinking alcohol or using drugs
Threatens you with violence or a weapon
Hits, kicks, shoves, slaps, chokes or otherwise hurts you, your children or your pets
Assaults you while you're sleeping, you've been drinking or you're not paying attention to make up for a difference in strength
Forces you to have sex or engage in sexual acts against your will
Blames you for his or her violent behavior or tells you that you deserve it
Portrays the violence as mutual and consensual
If you're gay, bisexual or transgender, you might also be experiencing domestic violence if you're in a relationship with someone who:
Threatens to tell friends, family, colleagues or community members your sexual orientation or gender identity
Tells you that authorities won't help a gay, bisexual or transgender person
Tells you that leaving the relationship means you're admitting that gay, bisexual or transgender relationships are deviant
Justifies abuse by telling you that you're not "really" gay, bisexual or transgender
The search for an identity and finding one’s own definition of what it means to be a man is an important part of maturity for young men, one that has been with us through most of recorded history.
With the ubiquity of mass-communication – whether it be magazines, newspapers, movies, television or the Internet – it’s not surprising that many men look to popular culture for sources of information what male behavior is supposed to be and how we’re supposed to display it.
Unfortunately, mass media doesn’t send the greatest of messages about how to be a man. In fact, we are regularly bombarded with messages selling the idea that masculinity is violent, physically aggressive and sexually domineering and that anger and stoic toughness are the only appropriate emotions for men to display.
The powder keg that is porn culture has exploded in the lives of North American children. The often-devastating consequences are explored in the new film Sext up KIDS.
From tiny tots strutting bikini-clad bodies in beauty pageants to companies marketing itty-bitty thongs and padded bras to 9-year olds, images of ever-younger sexualized girls have become commonplace. Add to that: ever-younger boys with 24-7 access to hard-core internet porn. It saturates their lives - from skate parks to the school bus – by the time they’re eighteen, 80 percent of boys are watching porn online. Toss social media into the mix and kids can not only consume X-rated images, but can also now produce them.Sexting has become a Grade 7 right of passage.
Sext up KIDS exposes how growing up in a hyper-sexualized culture hurts our kids. Teens and pre-teens show and tell what they are doing and why they are doing it. Experts reveal startling new research, tracking how the pressure to be sexy is changing teen and sexual behavior in alarming ways, as “anal becomes the new oral.” Parents and educators struggle to help kids navigate puberty in a world where the line between pop culture and porn culture is increasingly blurred. For every parent who thinks, “that’s not my son or daughter,” Sext up KIDS is your wake up call.
19 per cent of the respondents believe that women may provoke or encourage sexual assault when they are drunk. Of these, nearly one-quarter (23 per cent) were people between 18 and 34 years old.
"The belief that women are responsible for sexual assault because of their actions or appearance is still common in our society, and can cause women who have suffered abuse to stay silent and often feel responsible for what happened to them," says Anu Dugal, Director of Violence Prevention at the Canadian Women's Foundation. "Canadians must stop questioning and blaming sexual assault victims and start asking why some men rape women."
The study has also found that 15 per cent of Canadians believe women can encourage or provoke sexual assault by flirting with a man (20 per cent for age 18-34) and 11 per cent think women can encourage or provoke sexual assault when they wear short skirts (17 per cent for age 18-34).
In addition to physical trauma, sexual assault victims commonly have long-term and serious psychological effects that may include depression, self-blame, shame, fear, and anger. The programs funded by the Canadian Women's Foundation help women recover and rebuild their lives through counselling, legal advice and safety planning.
If you have been sexually assaulted:
Safety - Go to a safe place.
Report it - If you want to report the crime, notify the police immediately. This can help you regain a sense of control. Consider also calling a friend or family member who can offer support.
Save the evidence - Do not shower, eat, drink, wash your hands or brush your teeth after the assault until after you have a medical exam. Save all the clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault in a paper bag.
Get medical help - Go to a hospital or clinic. Even if you do not think you were physically harmed, you should still have a medical examination. If you think you were given a "rape drug" ask the hospital to take a urine sample.
Document - Write down as much as you remember about the assault, including a description of the assailant.
Get emotional support - Talk to a counsellor, crisis line or community organization that is trained to assist victims of sexual assault. Counseling can help you cope with the emotional and physical effects of the assault. Remember that the assault is not your fault.
The sexually liberal country has not only criminalised the purchase of sex, but has also banned strip clubs.
Megan Murphy, (2013). Al Jazeera.
Iceland ranked first place in the 2012 Global Gender Gap report,
moving up from number 4 in 2008. Based on factors like economic
participation and opportunity (so, looking at things like wage equality
and the number of women in the labour force and in positions of power),
educational attainment (based on factors such as female literacy and the
number of women enrolled in higher education), health and survival
(which looks at life expectancy and mortality rates), and political
empowerment (which takes into account the number of women holding
political office as well as the number of female heads of state); this
report ranks countries throughout the world.
Unlike the US, Iceland dealt with the crash by prosecuting those
responsible, holding banks accountable, minimising, and in some cases
forgiving individual household debts completely, cutting government
spending and raising taxes.
They also came to the rather radical conclusion that a male-dominated economy and business culture
were part of what led to the crash in the first place. In response,
Iceland developed a legislation that ensured companies' boards were
composed of 40 percent women and incorporated what they called "feminine
values" into the "mainly male spheres of private equity, wealth management and corporate advice".
Throughout all this, the new government made maintaining Iceland's
extensive welfare system a priority, protecting the middle and working
classes above the rich. The country learned the consequences of
right-wing privatisation policies and responded accordingly.
Sigurdardottir said in an interview with Transform!:
"The system was not only economically harmful, but every day we have
more information about the corruption and the greed that existed in that
system."
Having nearly reached gender parity in government, women hold 41 percent of seats
in government, in comparison with the 17 percent of women in parliament
in the US. The country offers generous maternity and paternity leave as
well as and childcare provision from the state.
The sexually liberal country not only criminalised the purchase of sex in 2009, but, the following year, Iceland banned strip clubs. A feminist and a progressive endeavour, the proposal to ban hardcore
pornography online has wide support in Iceland, as does the ban on strip
clubs and the criminalisation of johns. When I talked to author and feminist activist, Professor Gail Dines,
about this proposal, she emphasised that this was not about restricting
sexual content, nudity, or erotica. Iceland's Interior
Minister Ogmundur Jonasson, who is currently drafting the legislation,
is looking specifically at restricting pornography that is hardcore,
violent and cruel.
The porn industry, Dines says, actually controls much of the
discourse around sex. To limit that control, she argues, doesn't
restrict "free speech". "The question is: Do we want to have broader
debates and a broader discourse about sex, or do we want the
pornographers to control it?"
The Act requires that anyone who has reason to believe that a child
may be abused, neglected, or is for any other reason in need of
protection, must report it to the Director or a delegated social worker.
These reports are investigated by social workers, who take the most
appropriate action that is least disruptive for the child. These actions
may include:
providing or arranging the provision of support services to the family
supervising the child's care in the home, or
protecting the child through removal from the family and
placement with relatives, a foster family or specialized residential
resources
Advance Care Planning - Advance care planning is the process of thinking about, and writing down, your wishes or instructions for future health care treatment
in the event you become incapable of deciding for yourself. Advance
care planning gives you a voice and also gives your family or friends
the knowledge and tools they may need to make decisions on your behalf.
Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre - Personal
planning is about making legal arrangements in the event you need assistance
managing your affairs during your lifetime due to illness, injury or
disability. Personal planning can address all areas of your life – health care, personal care,
legal affairs, and financial affairs.
Legal Forms: Representation Agreements & Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA)
