Reflections on the Past 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

As we celebrate International Human Rights Day on December 10, join SCWIST as we reflect on the past 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

SCWIST kicked off the conversation with the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto (WomanACT) when they hosted ‘Yes, it’s our business!’ at the Uber Engineering Hub in Toronto on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. While both WomanACT and SCWIST continue to shine a light on GBV, they also focus on sexual harassment in the Canadian STEM industry with support from the Department of Justice Canada. The Safe STEM Workplaces project is currently working alongside several STEM organizations by collaborating with them to develop tailored and comprehensive policies, establish trauma-informed reporting mechanisms, and create avenues for resolution and referral pathways. Currently, the project is working alongside several companies to review and update their existing policies and identify knowledge gaps to then supplement with appropriate individualized training initiatives.

“In the New Year (2023), we will be rolling out in-person, virtual, synchronous and asynchronous training options,” says Maya Low, Training Specialist and Project Coordinator at SCWIST. She welcomes inquiries and invites all those who are interested in getting involved to contact safe-stem@scwist.ca. 

Though today marks the end of 16-days of conversations from around the world and across Canada, SCWIST’s Director of Policy and Impact, Melanie Ratnam, says, “I very much hope that we continue to #movethedial with a better understanding of how we can help eliminate GBV – whether by sharing resources and local support services or by promoting gender diversity to foster safe work environments that are free of harassment. Policy change is going to require that all of us continue to make a commitment to end GBV. ”