The COVID-19 pandemic has hit women particularly hard, with many leaving the workforce to take on more unpaid work at home than ever before as they stepped up to care for kids and elders. Women also fill the majority of front-line roles in the fight against COVID-19. This leaves more women vulnerable to financial hardship, food and shelter insecurity and abuse.
Women's organizations provide vital services supporting women and girls to be financially secure and free from gender-based violence, so we must ensure these organizations have the resources their need to continue their essential work.
Thursday, April 15, Halton Members of Parliament Pam Damoff, Hon. Anita Anand, Hon. Karina Gould and Adam van Koeverden, on behalf of Hon. Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced an investment of $35,000 in Halton Women’s Place (HWP) and over $90,000 in Sexual Assault & Violence Intervention Services of Halton (SAVIS) to help both organizations continue their invaluable work in the Halton region.
Both Oakville MPs acknowledge the disproportionate impact COVID is having on women.
“During this unprecedented time, women and children have experienced gender-based violence and often find themselves isolated from the resources they need. Our government is committed to supporting frontline organizations like Halton Women’s Place and SAVIS so that they can continue to provide assistance to better address victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence,” said Minister Anita Anand, MP Oakville.
Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville North-Burlington, agrees. “This emergency funding will help frontline organizations like SAVIS and Halton Women’s Place keep their doors open to support and validate survivors of violence and advocate for the rights and safety of all victims of violence.”
HWP provides a haven, education, information and support to women and children experiencing domestic violence. Services include safe shelter, 24/7 crisis support lines, community outreach, public education and advocacy.
“For more than a year now, organizations such as Halton Women’s Place have had to go to new lengths to keep women and children safe from both their abusers and a deadly virus,” Laurie Hepburn of Halton Women’s Place explains. “This much-needed federal support comes at a time when there is more demand and less community funding certainty than ever.”
SAVIS offers free, confidential, 24/7, one-on-one crisis counselling services to survivors of violence, including childhood sexual abuse. SAVIS responds to more than 600 crisis calls each year and supports 220 clients in its counselling program. It also offers anti-human trafficking support services dedicated to supporting survivors of human trafficking.
The Halton Collaborative Against Human Trafficking is a major initiative of SAVIS assisting local victims and the Halton community to coordinate the delivery of services to people who have been and/or in situations of human trafficking, advance the rights of survivors of human trafficking, prevent further instances of human trafficking by raising awareness of the issues and collectively break down and address systemic barriers survivors face when accessing services.
Sherry Parsley, Interim Executive Director, SAVIS of Halton, applauded the support. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of gender-based violence, and it is critically important that women have the supports and services they need. This funding will help SAVIS continue to provide high-quality support to the women in our community.”