International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day, the day we celebrate the achievements of my favourite half of the population, as well as look at issues still facing women in terms of equality.
And, while strides have been made to close the gender gap, women still get paid less for doing equal work. We’re getting closer, but we’re not there yet.
More alarming is the fact that one in three women will be the victim of physical or sexual violence.
Most of these attacks are not random attacks by strangers; the majority are by an intimate partner.
Worse, this has gone up during the pandemic.
In Grande Prairie, these calls were on the rise even before the pandemic, with domestic violence cases climbing over the last three years.
The UN calls this a shadow pandemic. “As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity,” they say on their website. “More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.”
Women continue to be harassed and victimized at home, on the streets, and online simply because they are women.
In Canada, aboriginal women continue to be among the most victimized group of people in the country.
And it breaks my heart, knowing this. It breaks my heart that someone would willingly and deliberately cause pain to women. That they would strive to disempower women. To take power away from women.
My goal is to celebrate women, to empower women, to show them their beauty and strength and power. To reveal instead of conceal.
I know my reach is small. I am not a multinational corporation. I am just a photographer serving a small population in a small city in an out-of-the-way corner of Canada, but violence against women for whatever reason is something that I will oppose with all my strength.
If you randomly stumbled across this post, or if you’re one of my beautiful clients, and you have suffered abuse, know that you are not alone. And that you are not helpless. That there are things you can do. There are people on your side.
If you have experienced physical or sexual assault, there are places to reach out to. While I will do what I can do to help, remember, I’m just some guy with a camera. There are people much better situated to help. Here are some resources.
Pace Centre provides programs and councelling for women who have been abused.
Odyssey House not only provides shelter for women who have been abused, they offer informational programming
The John Howard Society offers various programs to help people with counselling and assessing their situation.
Grande Prairie Victim Services mission is to provide support to victims of crime, tragedy and trauma through the provision of information, referrals and advocacy. They also have many more links to other related services.