December 6 marks the 35th anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal where 14 women were singled out and murdered because of their gender. Among the 14 women who lost their lives in the tragedy was Maryse Laganière, a CUPE member who worked at the school. On the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women, we honour and remember all those who have lost their lives because of gender-based violence and recommit to taking concrete action to end all forms of gender-based violence.

Wear a white ribbon on December 6 as a symbol condemning violence against women and gender-based violence, observe a moment of silence, and attend a vigil in your community.

• In Regina, join the vigil on December 6, 2024, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the newly opened YWCA Regina Kikaskihtânaw Centre for Women and Families, located at 2817 12th Ave in Regina. Enter through the Main Entrance. Gathering Room 2.

• Join the Zoom event on December 9, 2024, at 11:00 AM CST hosted by the Canadian Labour Congress: How Unions Can Tackle Third-Party Violence at Work. Find out how workers experience gender-based violence and harassment from third parties, explore the limits of current approaches and highlight effective solutions to this growing crisis.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence 2024 theme is: Come Together, Act Now. It emphasizes how crucial it is to involve everyone – particularly men and boys – in changing social norms, attitudes and behaviours that contribute to gender-based violence. It is also a call to action urging all of us to recognize the signs of gender-based violence and to reach out for support, for ourselves or loved ones.

Violence and harassment should never be “just part of the job”, yet for too many workers – especially women and gender-diverse workers – the risk of harassment and violence has become a daily reality. The national survey by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), Harassment and Violence in Canadian Workplaces: It’s [Not] Part of the Job (April 2022), has exposed the unnerving reality that gender-based harassment and violence remain a persistent threat to workers – and that more must be done to stop it and prevent it. The survey also found that third-party violence (from customers, clients, patients and others) accounts for 1 in 3 of these incidents and is a particular threat to women and gender-diverse workers who are more frequently employed in public-facing jobs. The survey also found major barriers to reporting and the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to prevention that includes a gender-responsive and intersectional approach.

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to urgently address third-party violence and harassment at work by implementing ILO Convention 190 (C-190) – the first-ever global treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work. 

Learn More and Take Action:

• Links to CUPE resources for Local Unions: Stop Workplace Sexual Violence
• Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace: CUPE’s Violence Prevention Kit
• CUPE’s Domestic Violence and the Workplace Bargaining Guide
• CLC Domestic violence at work resource centre, including a Canadian map of legislated leave.
• 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
• Watch the Video by Women & Gender Equality Canada:  Listen. Learn. Act. 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

Safe Union Spaces

• Take the pledge committing to a safer, more inclusive CUPE.
• Use CUPE’s Stop Workplace Sexual Violence guide to raise awareness, support survivors and challenge sexual violence.
• Download and share CUPE’s Violence Prevention Kit.
• Bargain for paid leave and other protections for workers facing domestic violence. See CUPE’s Domestic Violence and the Workplace Bargaining Guide and the CLC’s Domestic Violence at Work Resource Centre.

Calls to Justice

• Progress Report on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan
• Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• Support the work of the Native Women’s Association of Canada

Saskatchewan Resources:

• Job-Protected Leaves: CUPE and the Labour Movement have been leading the way in advocating for job protected, paid leave from work for those experiencing violence through collective agreements and employment laws. The Saskatchewan Employment Act provides the right to interpersonal violence and sexual violence leave of up to ten days, five of which are paid. CUPE Saskatchewan, together with the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, continues to advocate for improvements to this leave – and to have all ten days paid.

• 211 Call Line and Online Portal: In Saskatchewan, residents can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected to the provincial call line, or visit the web portal to quickly access help, community services and other important information to find safety when experiencing interpersonal violence, including sexual and domestic violence. The provincial phone line and web portal 2-1-1 is operated by the United Way.

• Women’s Shelters Canada (formerly the Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters & Transition Houses) operates a national website with a clickable map to assist women and their children who are fleeing violence, at: www.sheltersafe.ca

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