Collection: Violence against women

Our page on Violence against indigenous women and girls – lots of information about the timelines and all of the materials available and organizations involved

Our page “End Violence Against Women”  includes some timelines of the struggle to end violence and some links to related pages

Screencap from A Scream from Silence

Film: A scream from silence – a feature length docudrama about the rape of a nurse – with situations taken from case histories

thumbnail of CLC December 6th Statement 1992

CLC Statement December 6, 1992: A National Day Of Remembrance And Action On Violence Against Women

Screencapture from the film A Safe Distance

A Safe Distance – a film about innovative and different services for women fleeing violence.

Screencapture from the film Moving On

Moving On – a film about a plan by the community in London, Ontario to address violence against women

thumbnail of Breaking Free report

Breaking Free: A Proposal for Change To Aboriginal Family Violence– A report by the Ontario Native Women’s Association

A poster for a women's rally in Toronto organized by Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW).

Poster: Violence against women demo poster

thumbnail of DAWN TORONTO PAPER ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES

A fact sheet about violence against women with disabilities by the DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN)

thumbnail of Beating the Odds: Violence against Women with Disabilities

A position report from DAWN “Beating the Odds”: Violence and Women with Disabilities

Screencapture of the page about the women's movement in Guelph

On our page about feminist initiatives in Guelph -a short history of the women’s shelter in Guelph called The Fourteen Day House

Placards at the 1990 International Women's Day March in Toronto focus on ending violence against women and children. Photograph by Amy Gottlieb.

Photo: International Women’s Day 1990 (Toronto) – Placards that focus on ending violence against women and children.

  • Take Back the Night marches and vigils are organized by women in communities across Canada as a protest and form of direct action to end violence against women. This button was created by the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre is the Toronto event in September 1986.
  • Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) was a feminist organization active especially in Toronto and Vancouver.
  • This British Columbia Federation of Women button brought women together with the demand to Stop Rape.
  • A button challenging rape myths and emphasizing that sexual activity without consent is coercive and abusive.
  • Wen Do was developed as a self-defense course for women and girls and continues to be an important feminist initiative that focuses on issues of sexual violence facing women and teaches women how to protect themselves. It is trans inclusive.
  • This pin shows support for The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre and its work with women who have experienced sexual violence and to eradicate violence against women and children. The Toronto Rape Crisis Centre was established in 1974, one of the first in Canada.
  • This button is one of many worn by women to raise awareness of sexual violence and demanding that it be stopped.
  • The button calls for justice for Pauline Au and an end to sexual harassment. After experiencing sexual harassment that started in the early 1990s, Pauline brought a charge against the hospital where she worked to the Ontario Labour Relations Board in 1997.
  • The December 6th Fund was created as a memorial to the fourteen women murdered on December 6, 1989 at L'Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. It provides interest free loans to women fleeing abuse.
  • This button is an example of men starting to speak up as allies to end violence against women.
  • A button showing support for the Emily Stowe Shelter for Women and Children. The Scarborough emergency shelter for women escaping violence was named after the first woman doctor to practice in Canada.
  • This button commemorates the murder of 14 women, just because they were women, at L'École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989. Although many other buttons have been designed by various groups, this button is one of the most well-recognized and worn.

Some memorable buttons from campaigns against violence against women are available on our buttons page (these and more!)