O’Leary: Ambrosie, CFL part of campaign to end violence against women

Randy Ambrosie put the reality of Friday’s press conference out there when he mentioned one powerful stat.

“We know that nearly 70 per cent of Canadians report that they know a woman who has experienced sexual or physical violence,” he said, as the CFL’s commitment to ending violence welcomed some new partners, part of a growing focus on raising awareness and calling out disrespect and violence when it’s seen.

“As individuals and as organizations,” Ambrosie said, “we all have the ability to be leaders on this issue and put a stop to violence against women.”

The league is a part of a new campaign that includes Ending Violence Association Canada (EVA CAN), Status of Women Canada (SWC) and the United Steelworkers (USW).

“Status of Women Canada is proud to work with experts and advocates across the country to implement the first-ever federal strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence, and we are very pleased to be a partner in this important initiative,” said Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women, Terry Duguid.

“Everyone has a role to play in ending gender-based violence and we hope Canadians will join us by pausing to reflect and consider how their actions matter, and how calling out harmful behaviour makes all the difference.”

At Sunday’s 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw, the messages of being more than a bystander, speaking up and calling out sexual and domestic violence will be prominently featured with an in-stadium video, LED signage on the field and a broad social media campaign. The core of the message: We all have a role to play in ending gender-based violence.

“This campaign builds on the gender-based violence prevention work many of the (CFL’s) teams have been doing: teaching youth and adults alike how they can speak up and ‘be more than bystanders’,” said Tracy Porteous, a leading activist and the Co-Chair of the Ending Violence Association of Canada.

Porteous also worked closely with the CFL three years ago in the drafting of its own violence against women policy.

“I want to commend the CFL, both for this campaign and the ground-breaking national violence against women prevention and response policy they launched in 2015,” she said.

“We work with the league office and CFL clubs to train all players, coaches and staff to respond proactively to any allegation of gender-based violence and, when necessary, we help CFL clubs assess those who may have a past history involving allegations of gender-based violence.”

The United Steelworkers’ involvement with gender-based violence education and prevention began in Western Canada when the BC Lions, working in partnership with with EVA BC launched the Be More Than A Bystander program in 2011. Now, the Steelworkers national union has become a part of this national campaign.

“Like our partners in the CFL, we have trained a number of spokesmen to lead sessions in our locals and workplaces to call out gender-based violence and challenge the culture that nurtures it,” said Ken Neumann of the United Steelworkers.

“We call on individuals and organizations across the country to join us in this mission.”

“The CFL remains committed to ending violence and to calling out disrespect and violence where we see it,” Ambrosie added. “As individuals and as organizations, we all have the ability to be leaders on this issue and put a stop to violence against women.”