Step It Up Ontario! - Media Room

Newsflash

Don't Make Us Work for Free! On September 17th, Ontario women started working for free because of the 29% wage gap between women and men. See the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition's Toronto Star Op Ed, "Ontario's gender pay gap cheats women workers ," and new "Don't Make Me Work for Free " sticker. Check out the website of the Equal Pay Coalition HERE for more information.

New funding for women's shelters; second stage housing programs! Read the Ontario government announcement HERE and our media response HERE .

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Charges against women withdrawn

Statement by the Women Against Poverty Collective on decision to withdraw charges against WAPC members
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Women take police space

Taking over the courtyard of Toronto Police Headquarters in downtown Toronto, women used direct action and talk to raise the issues.

They reminded the crowd about the excessive use of force used on women June 3rd and subsequent refusals by police officials and Mayor David Miller to speak to them about the police action.

At the same time, organizers restated their demands for housing for women experiencing violence and women from the group spoke of their experiences at the Housing Takeover and their experience of personal violence, racism and intersecting oppressions.

They make it clear that they'll continue their struggle until something is done about their demands for housing as a right.

"The government thinks and the cops think that if they brutalize us enough, that we'll back down in our struggle for safe housing. But they forgot that we come together because we're already survivors of violence and we've already survived that. And organized together to take direct action to improve our lives and gain safe housing," said one of the organizers.

Along with the speakers, creative street theatre and poetry, as well as 'speaking out' by members of the crowd brought to life the reality of violence in women's lives, the multiple impacts of violence on women from marginalized communities and the lack of response and criminalizing of women survivors by police, systems and governments at all levels.

Housing rights action July 19

This action coincides with the first court appearance of four members of the WAPC arrested at the Housing Takeover action last month.

On June 3rd, hundreds of women, trans people and their allies marched through the streets of Toronto to 4 Howard Street, one of hundreds of buildings in the the city that have been allowed to sit empty and deteriorate until they fall down or must be torn down.

Four women from the Toronto Women Against Poverty Collective had already entered the building, claiming it for affordable housing for women by women.

The group outside erected a 'tent city' in support of the women inside, but several hours into the peaceful gathering, police used excessive force to move the crowd. Giving little or no warning, police aggressively cleared the demonstration and used horses to push women into small, confined spaces, creating a very unsafe situation.

The four women in the house were arrested and charged. Another woman from the crowd was also arrested and appeared in court on July 8th.

At the protest rally, there will be speakers and spoken word talking about the issues of violence and poverty in women's lives. After the rally, supporters are welcome to accompany the defendants into the court at College Park Courts (Yonge and College streets at College Park).

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