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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Charges against women withdrawn |
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Statement by the Women Against Poverty Collective on decision to withdraw charges against WAPC members
Just days after members of the Women Against Poverty Collective (WAPC)
packed the court room in support of four women charged with break and
enter and mischief, the crown has withdrawn the charges! The four women
were part of a collaborative effort to convert an abandoned building at 4
Howard St. into useable, safe housing for women, transfolks and our kids.
On June 3rd, 2007 WAPC held a rally, march and housing takeover to raise
awareness about the connection between poverty, violence and homelessness
in women's lives. Lack of affordable housing and pitifully low social
assistance rates force many women and transwomen to choose between living
with violent partners or living on the street. Once on the street though,
homeless women are so marginalized that they are assaulted, raped and
murdered at 10 times the rate of other women in Canada.
WAPC aims to stop this violence by creating housing that is controlled by
us and for us. The tent city and housing takeover on June 3rd was one
such action. In response to the 'threat' of women and trans folks
creating their own solutions to homelessness, police violently attacked
the participants with horses, assaulting and targeting racialized
women/transfolks in particular. To date, the mayor, police chief and
police services board have all refused to acknowledge this brutality and
have denied WAPC's requests for a meeting.
The charges against the four are being withdrawn as part of the Community
Justice Program, where each of the four charged will donate $50 to a
social justice organization, in this case the Ontario Coalition Against
Poverty, in exchange for a withdrawal of the charges. All four women will
continue to organize with the WAPC. One woman who was outside the housing
takeover is still facing a charge of obstruction and WAPC will continue to
support her in her legal case and calls on her charge to be withdrawn as
well.
The crown's decision to withdraw the charges affirms what we already know:
that the police reaction on June 3rd was politically motivated- a violent
attempt to frighten and silence women and transfolk willing to take direct
action to gain safe housing for ourselves and each other. That we've
continued organizing, continued speaking out and continued struggling
collectively shows that they've failed! We will keep on fighting for all
people's right to have safe homes, live free of violence and have enough
money to live in dignity.
COME OUT TO THE NEXT WAPC MEETING ON AUGUST 1ST AT 5PM AT PARKDALE
COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES (1266 Queen St. W) AS WE CONTINUE IN OUR STRUGGLE
TO WIN HOUSING BY US FOR US NOW!
For more info on the Women Against Poverty Collective go to
http://www.womenagainstpovertycollective.org.
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