[Image by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash]
A conversation with Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, YWCA Toronto’s Director of Advocacy and Communications.
What is advocacy?
The term “advocacy” comes from the Latin word “advocare” or “advocatia,” which means ‘to call out for support.’ When we engage in the act or process of advocacy, we draw attention to an issue that needs to change and call upon others to support us.
In the context of our work at YWCA Toronto, it means to amplify the voices of the community members we serve, to draw attention to the issues and barriers facing them, and to push for progressive policy solutions. At its core, advocacy is about shifting attitudes, transforming institutions, and tangibly changing policies and practices.
Why does YWCA Toronto advocate for women, girls and gender diverse people?
Women and gender diverse people face heightened levels of poverty and violence. We witness firsthand the challenges faced by our community members who are primarily women and girls but also trans, non-binary and Two-Spirit Peoples. Our advocacy is informed by them, as well as by the expertise of our frontline staff, and the political issues of the day.
We are feminists! We believe in protecting the rights of women, in advancing the rights of women, and ensuring all women – from all walks of life, including trans women, Black women, women living with disabilities, queer women, women struggling with mental health and addictions, newcomer and refugee women, Indigenous women, as well as their children – are protected, cared for, and empowered to live a life of their choosing.
Why do we need advocacy to help end-gender based violence?
Alongside many other community partners across Canada, we have been vocal about the need for a well-funded national plan to end gender-based violence. We need to spend billions, not just millions, on ending gender-based violence and promoting women’s safety. A woman or girl is murdered every 2.5 days in Canada, on average, due to intimate partner violence. The numbers are even higher for Indigenous and trans women.
Femicide in our country – defined as the murder of a woman or girl because of her gender – is an enormous social issue that requires significant government action. We are proud to be able to speak to this highly important yet often invisible issue in such a prominent way.
Why are Violence Against Women shelters critical for women escaping abuse?
Most women will not leave an abusive situation if they can’t take their children with them. On average, it takes a woman seven attempts to leave a violent partner. There is also a service gap: Many co-ed emergency shelters do not accept children and/or are not safe places for women. This is why we need investment in an emergency shelter system specifically focused on survivors.
Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters help women, trans community members and their children stay safe. VAW shelter locations are protected and staff are trained in culturally-responsive, trauma-informed care to support survivors and connect survivors with other relevant health and housing services.
YWCA Toronto often talks about income security – why is this an important issue?
Poverty and homelessness are women’s issues! Income security is critical to advancing gender and racial equity, which is why we advocate for an adequate, livable income for all residents. This means ensuring everyone on social assistance has access to benefits that actually cover the cost of housing and food in our city – $733, the amount currently paid to a recipient of the Ontario Works (OW) program – is not enough. We believe a single person on OW should receive at least $2,000 per month to live a dignified existence.
Income security also requires us to address the rise of working poverty in especially women-majority sectors. The average person earning minimum wage in Toronto would have to work 106 hours a week just to afford a one-bedroom apartment in the city, where the average rent is $1,600 a month.
With our partners, we have urged the Province to increase social assistance rates and pushed the federal government to introduce gender-responsive income security programs and reforms. We are currently calling on the provincial government to enact stronger labour and employment laws to protect women in feminized industries – and all workers who are precariously employed.
Why do we need a range of affordable housing options in Toronto?
Access to affordable housing means a woman can build a life of her choosing without relying on the income of anyone else – and, should the need arise, leave an abusive situation more easily. Right now, there are many women who feel trapped in abusive homes because they can't afford to leave. Or women couch surfing with friends or family because their home isn’t safe. The long-term solution to this distressing reality is that we need to build more deeply affordable and supportive housing that includes transitional housing supports and permanent, deeply affordable units. We have to ensure a range of affordable housing options are available for women, Indigenous community members and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
Because of our advocacy efforts, we have been able to influence both municipal and federal housing strategies and bring an intersectional gender lens to new housing projects. Women’s homelessness is often invisible – but continues to be a pressing social problem that requires our urgent attention, particularly as housing prices and rental rates have increased exponentially over the past two decades.
What is the relevance of child care to advancing gender equity in our society?
Without access to affordable child care, women are less likely to take part in the labour market. This is why we need a universal child care system – one that is affordable, high quality and public/non-profit led. This system also needs to treat early childhood educators in a dignified, professional manner so that they are paid appropriately for their labour and have job protections that will keep them in the workforce for the long run.
Child care has been a key pillar of YWCA Toronto’s advocacy – and the advocacy of the women’s movement – for many decades now. We are heartened by all the progress at the federal level and hopefully the Ontario Government will sign the child care agreement soon. We are closing in on our national feminist dream to ensure every mother, every parent, has the ability to engage in paid work on an equal footing. No mother should have to choose between her career or her child.
How can ‘regular’ people become advocates?
Advocacy is within all of us! The first step is getting comfortable with your voice. Advocacy is not a passive act. If there is a problem, it calls upon you to try to fix it – to connect with other likeminded individuals, pooling your resources and time, to push for change.
Mostly, advocacy is about connecting with a community that cares about your perspective, where you feel safe and comfortable enough to bring the discomforts of society, the cracks and fault lines, to the attention of policy makers and members of the public – and demand better.
To be an advocate is to work actively towards a better society. We’re so proud to be strong gender justice advocates at YWCA Toronto!
--
Jasmine Ramze Rezaee is the Director of Advocacy and Communications at YWCA Toronto. She is a member of the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Poverty Advisory Group, the City of Toronto's Equity Advisory Group, and a Board of Directors Member at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services.
please consider donating to our advocacy work