Women’s shelters hold first-ever confab in Montreal

“Coming together to share knowledge, ideas and plans is an important step to forging a unified voice to end violence against women,” Gierman added.

“What is not yet fully understood by most Canadians is just how pervasive violence against women (VAW) is,” said Manon Monastesse, Director of Fédération de ressources d'hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec, one of the Network’s founding members.

“We see first-hand the effects of VAW, its root causes, and the toll it takes on society. As experts in the field, our collective effort to raise public awareness and advocate for change is powerful.”

With a goal of advancing collective knowledge, unifying as a collaborative voice, and expanding the capacity of sheltering leaders at all levels, the three-day forum will feature a range of plenary & concurrent sessions, including:

Of special note is the attendance of a representative from UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) to acknowledge the Network’s work on a global module for establishing safe shelters.

The United Nations is slated to launch said module concurrent to this Forum.

The Forum’s theme is "Uniting to End Violence Against Women: Collaborating, Educating and Innovating to Shape Our Future". Participants and supporters are being rallied around the slogan “Unite. Think. Act.”

The Network is a coalition of 14 provincial/territorial, regional and Aboriginal sheltering organizations representing over 350 shelters with a small office in Ottawa.