Harmony House

The only second-stage women's shelter in Ottawa, Ontario

About violence against women

Violence against women is a pervasive human rights violation that occurs everywhere in the world.

Early organizations

In North America women began to organize to deal with violence against women in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

They formed grassroots organizations such as shelters for abused women, sexual assault and rape crisis centres. These were centres built by and for women based on women’s experiences.

Reflecting diversity

In the early days, not enough was done to ensure the involvement of marginalized women such as Aboriginal women, women of colour, women with disabilities and so on. However, many women’s organizations have prioritized this work in recent years. As a result, women’s organizations are more reflective of the diversity of our communities and are more attentive to the complexities of the lives of women.

Working for change

Once grassroots women’s organizations began to form, they began to agitate for change. They called for changes to the ways systems responded to abused women and their children.

In particular, they called upon police, courts, medical services, child welfare authorities, housing providers, social welfare authorities and governments to understand the realities of abused women and to respond appropriately.

Central to these demands was the understanding that women’s equality would be at the heart of any solutions to violence against women.

The situation today

Many gains have been made in the area of violence against women. Virtually all systems now have some capacity to deal with violence against women.

Many police departments have dedicated units dealing with violence against women and provide training to their officers so they can better understand the problem. There are specialized “domestic violence” courts in some communities.

Many hospitals and community health centres have developed specialized services to deal with violence against women. Child welfare authorities and shelters in Ontario have been mandated to work collaboratively to address violence against women, with varying levels of success in different communities.

Work to be done

Given all these developments, it sometimes seems that we are making headway in dealing with this problem. Yet, there is much more to do. Women continue to report many difficulties dealing with all these services and systems. Too many women and children continue to experience abuse in their homes.

How can you get involved in ending violence against women?

• Talk to your municipal, provincial and federal politicians about what they will do to end violence against women. Let them know that this is important to you.
• Write letters to the editor about issues related to women’s equality and violence against women.
• Talk to your friends and family about these issues.
• Take a stand. Vocalize it.
• Support your local women’s shelter, sexual assault support center and rape crisis centre.

We would love to have your help putting us out of business because we are no longer needed.