Women and violence
Inuuqatigiitsiarniq: Working Towards a Territorial Strategy to Stop Violence Against Women Symposium took place
in Iqaluit, Nunavut from January 17-20, 2006. The Symposium was hosted by Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council
in conjunction with the Government of Nunavut’s multi-departmental Violence Against Women Working Group.
Nunavut has some of the highest levels of violence against women occurring in Canada and as a result, the Government of Nunavut is working toward developing a territorial strategy to stop violence against women. The Symposium was an important element in the development of the strategy. The Symposium brought together 75-100 participants from all 25 communities across Nunavut to consult on the issues surrounding the increasingly high levels of violence against women in Nunavut, and determined the tools and resources required to build a foundation for healthy communities in which women and their children can live free from violence.
The goal of the Symposium was to facilitate a forum which enabled communities to provide significant and realistic input into programs, policies and protocols that will directly impact them when dealing with the issue of violence. This will result in working toward a comprehensive, culturally appropriate strategy to address the high levels of violence in Nunavut communities. It addressed both consultative and educational components of this issue, and allowed communities to address the issues of violence against women with the support of existing agencies.
The objectives of the symposium were:
- to explore best practices and models;
- to offer opportunities for consultation on ongoing anti-violence initiatives;
- to strengthen leadership networks and partnerships;
- to recommend community-based solutions to violence; and
- to recommend governmental and intergovernmental action that would support those solutions.
Please click on one of the links below to download a copy of the Executive Summary from the Symposium.
If you would like a copy of the final report, please contact Qulliit.