In March of 2015, the province of Ontario launched the It's Never Okay action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment. The action plan includes the commitment to establishing a permanent roundtable in order to make Ontario a leader within Canada on issues of violence against women (VAW), which recently held its first meeting.
The roundtable is made up of frontline workers from 20 organizations that all have experience in preventing and responding to sexual violence and harassment. Drawing on the expertise of the representatives, the roundtable will provide advice to the provincial government on issues of gendered violence and implementation of the provincial plan to provide more security, protection and equal opportunity to Ontarians.
To learn more about the It's Never okay action plan, visit www.ontario.ca/home-and-community/we-can-all-help-stop-sexual-violence.
Quick facts on sexual violence and harassment:
1 in 3 women will experience some form of sexual assault in her lifetime.
In three quarters of sexual assaults, the woman knows her attacker.
Women represent 83% of victims of domestic violence.
Ontario. Women's Directorate. First Meeting for Ontario's Roundtable on Violence Against Women. News.ontario.ca. 31 March 2015.