Nearly 20 different organizations have joined forces to form a feminist coalition that they hope will help in the fight to end violence against women.
The Feminist Coalition on Violence against Women says its main mission will be to call attention to the lack of resources and financing that goes into fighting violence against women.
“We still have so many needs for women, particularly women in vulnerable positions, women who are victims of violence, sexual exploitation, sexual aggression, handicapped women,”said Melpa Kamateros, Executive Director of Shield of Athena’s family services.
“We’d like to make people aware that not everything is rosy as regards to women’s issues.”
Organizations like Shield of Athena, Maison d’Haiti, DisAbledWomen’s Network (DAWN), and many more say though the province has made steps to help women at risk of being abused, the coalition says there is still a long way to go.
“Although we made some progress in the last year, there’s still a lot of problems and our government can do better,” said Louise Riendeau, Coalition of Homes for Regroupement des maisons pour femmes de violence conjugale (RMFVVC).
With the provincial election set for this fall, the coalition says it hopes to meet with every leader of each political party to ensure that this issue is a top priority.
“There’s so many needs, there’s not enough financing, there’s not enough resources,” said Kamateros. “Women make up 52 per cent of the population here in Quebec, and we are ready to convey to the government that this is the situation and we’re expecting everybody to help.”