UVic students plan walkout as part of national call for action on gender-based violence
Students at the University of Victoria are staging a classroom walkout Monday as part of a national call for action on gender-based violence.
UVic students are calling on the province to provide $5 million over the next three years to support violence prevention and response efforts. The students are also asking for a review of B.C.'s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act, saying the legislation needs to include more consultation with survivors of violence and minimum standards of care and accountability for institutions.
"Gender-based and sexualized violence are often said to have no place on our campuses, but this is far from the reality on the ground where these issues continue to be pervasive,” said UVic student and walkout organizer Anna-Elaine Rempel in a statement Monday.
"What students are asking for is that government actions actually reflect this rhetoric," Rempel added.
The walkout is scheduled from 12:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and is part of a nationwide initiative organized by Students for Consent Culture Canada and the Safe Campus Coalition.
NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR MONTREAL MASSACRE
The event coincides with Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The date commemorates the Dec. 6, 1989, massacre at École Polytechnique in Montreal, in which 14 women were murdered.
“To this day, many people still remember the moment they heard about the nightmare unfolding at École Polytechnique," said B.C. Premier John Horgan and Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity Grace Lore in a joint statement Monday.
"The pain and memories remain, as do the dangers of sexist attitudes, beliefs and prejudice, which all too often have life-threatening consequences," Horgan and Lore added.
The pair said the province is working on an "action plan to help end gender-based violence in B.C."
"This plan will recognize the connections with other key government action, including new standards for services, better training for people working in the justice system and more stable, secure funding for sexual assault centres," they said.
The UVic walkout is supported by the University of Victoria Students’ Society, the Gender Empowerment Centre and the Anti-Violence Project.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.