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NEWSBYTES - OCT. 24, 2008
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The Advisory Council on the Status of Women is the provincial government agency that promotes equality, fairness and dignity for women, by bringing forward concerns and advising the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Act. Through research, policy, education, and partnerships, the council works to ensure women have an equal voice in society, fair pay and pensions, freedom from violence, and good health and well-being.
Newsbytes is a free bi-weekly e-mail newsletter with links to stories and contacts.
You can also read the newsletter and about coming events at the Advisory Council's website: <http://www.women.gov.ns.ca>.
Also, visit our online catalogue at http://women.gov.ns.ca/library.asp or come visit our library!
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
/1/ NS Women’s Voices in Federal and Municipal Elections
/2/ Chair Wins Seat on Town Council, Again
/3/ Muriel Duckworth 100th Birthday Concert
/4/ Immigrant Women, Violence and Access to Services
/5/ Raising Children with Disabilities Takes Toll
/6/ Awareness Campaign Geared Towards Women, Mood Disorders
/7/ Dreams for Women Fundraising Opportunity
/8/ Survey: Wheelchair Accessible Van Rentals
/9/ Helping Abused Woman: 101 Things to Know, Say, do
/10/ Volunteers for Street Count: a Portrait of Streets and Shelters
/11/ Did You Know?
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/1/ NS WOMEN’S VOICES IN FEDERAL AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
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As of October 14, 2008, women hold 68 of 308 seats (22.1 per cent) in the House of Commons. There has been a slow but steady increase in the participation of women at the federal level. In 1972, women filled only five seats in the House of Commons (1.9 per cent ).
On October 18 municipal elections, only 3 of 71 candidates running for mayor (or 4.2 per cent) were women; one was elected mayor – Marney Simmons of Mulgrave.
Of the 750 candidates running for municipal council positions in the province, 181 (24.1 per cent) were women and 569 (75.9 per cent) were men. There were 10 more women running and 74 fewer men running in the 2008 election than there were in the 2004 election. Women also comprise 43 of the 91 people (47 per cent) elected to school board positions in the province.
Four of the women elected as municipal councillors in 2008 were past graduates of the Nova Scotia Campaign School for Women.
For more details visit our website at: http://women.gov.ns.ca/leadershipstatistics.asp .
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/2/ CHAIR WINS SEAT ON TOWN COUNCIL, AGAIN
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Congratulations to our Chair Liz Chisholm on her reelection as councillor in the Town of Antigonish. Ms Chisholm is actively involved in the Advisory Council on the Status of Women and in her community. She has run as a candidate in three provincial elections. This will be her second term on the town council.
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/3/ MURIEL DUCKWORTH 100TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT
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Everyone is invited next Sunday, Nov. 2 to the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at the Dalhousie Arts Centre to celebrate Muriel’s Duckworth 100th Birthday. Reception begins at 2 p.m. and the Concert at 3 p.m.
Learn more details about this event from our website at: http://women.gov.ns.ca/calendar.asp .
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/4/ IMMIGRANT WOMEN, VIOLENCE AND ACCESS TO SERVICES
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A new study “Providing Services to Immigrant Women in Atlantic Canada” published by Metropolis shows that immigrant women, like women everywhere suffer violence and look for support to help them deal with it.
The article describes some of the findings of research conducted in 2005 and 2006, which found that being an immigrant was a factor not only in immigrant women’s experiences of violence in Atlantic Canada, but also in their access to support services. Immigrant women and the professionals who provide services to them describe some of the barriers they face and conclude that fully funded and coordinated prevention and intervention programs and services to immigrant women are needed in the region.
Learn more: http://canada.metropolis.net/pdfs/Pages_from_ODC_spring08_e.pdf .
Source: Our Diverse Cities, Providing Services to Immigrant Women in Atlantic Canada, Barbara Cottrell, Sept. 2008.
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/5/ RAISING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES TAKES TOLL
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A Statistics Canada survey confirms what parents with children with disabilities already know -- the extra care and attention the children need adds to the stress of maintaining family balance. Of parents surveyed in 2006 who have a disabled child aged 14 and younger, 61.5 per cent said that trying to maintain that balance sometimes or always caused them stress. The more severe the child’s disability, the more likely these parents were to cite that as the main source of stress in their family – from 46.2 per cent for the parents of children with a mild to moderate disability to 81.7 per cent for those with children with a severe disability.
Faced with this situation at home, many parents opted to adjust their work schedules. Parents reported working fewer hours or different hours or declining a promotion. Some even quit their jobs. The survey found that mothers were eight times more likely than fathers (64 per cent versus eight per cent) to adjust their work schedules. Still, 25 per cent of couples decided that they both had to make adjustments to their jobs.
One in five parents surveyed also reported being told by day cares or other childcare that they would not accept children with disabilities.
About 200,000 Canadian families include a disabled child. Learn more: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/89-628-XIE/89-628-XIE2008009.htm .
Source: Statistics Canada, September 26.
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/6/ AWARENESS CAMPAIGN GEARED TOWARDS WOMEN, MOOD DISORDERS
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Women have new resources to help them understand anxiety and mood disorders. Those who think they may have symptoms are encouraged to seek help. Fact sheets, calendars and posters were launched on October 6 as part of Mental Illness Awareness Week. The calendar showcases artwork of women affected by mental health and includes facts and tips about mood disorders and how to improve and maintain mental health. The materials are available at http://www.nsdepression.ca .
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/7/ DREAMS FOR WOMEN FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY
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Antigone Magazine's “Dreams for Women Postcard Art Project” is launching it's 2009 Dreams for Women calendar featuring postcards submitted by men and women around the world. Part of the launch is a YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBQP5uM12kg, which has received thousands of hits.
The project, coordinated by a small group of dedicated young women ranging in ages from 20 to 24, is committed to envisioning progress for women around the world and hopes to encourage young women to get involved in leadership, politics and activism.
The organization also hopes to help raise money for other women's organizations. Organizers will be selling the calendars in bulk at discounted prices so that other women's groups can use it for fundraising. Groups who buy any amount over 10 copies for fundraising purposes will pay only $10 per calendar. They will then be able to resell the calendar for $20 and raise money for their organizations. For more information e-mail antigonemagazine@hotmail.com or check out the website here: http://www.antigonemagazine.wordpress.com .
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/8/ SURVEY: WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE VAN RENTALS
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The Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities in partnership with the Disabled Persons Commission and the Nova Scotia Community Based Transportation Association has been working with the Saint Mary’s Business Development Centre to research the need for a service that would provide wheelchair accessible vans for rent in Nova Scotia.
If you know anyone who would like to complete the survey below but has no access to the internet, please ask them to contact the NSLEO office at 1-866-696-7536, or print the attached survey and fax the completed document to 902-454-4781. The deadline to complete the survey is October 28. Click this link to access an electronic form of the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=t7sX6kdyNA0D_2bJ2Mp23OyA_3d_3d
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/9/ HELPING ABUSED WOMAN: 101 THINGS TO KNOW, SAY, DO
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The latest resources (2008) “Helping an Abused Woman” and “Helping Abused Women in Shelters” are clear-headed resources for matters often clouded in chaos and fear: violence against women. Professionals from multiple sectors including mental health, addictions and general health, will use the guides in efforts to provide woman abuse/trauma-informed services.
The “tool box” includes: ideas for practice; research summaries; handouts to supplement one-on-one or group work; 10 principles for working with abused woman; 5 paradoxes of abuse; 10 common control tactics used by abusers; and a new safety assessment tool.
For this and more resources visit our library or check our online catalogue at: http://women.gov.ns.ca/library.asp .
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/10/ VOLUNTEERS FOR STREET COUNT: A PORTRAIT OF STREETS AND SHELTERS
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The Community Action on Homelessness is gearing up for this year’s Street Count and will be looking for over 30 volunteers to do short surveys on November 12 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Expression of Interest forms for volunteers are by e-mailing jhartling@cahhalifax.org or calling 420-2186. Please note that a mandatory volunteer training will be held on two dates: Wednesday Nov. 5 and Thursday, Nov. 6 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. All volunteers are required to attend one training session.
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/11/ DID YOU KNOW...
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That forty years ago, in October 1968, a group of students at McGill ran for student government, with a promise that if elected, they would produce a book on birth control. They got elected, and the book was produced. It was a risky venture, as contraceptive pills were not legalized in Canada until the next year – just giving information on contraception was a criminal offence The initiative later became known as Montreal Health Press, a non-profit organization dedicated to distributing information on birth control and other information on sexually transmitted diseases.
Learn more: http://www.cbmh.ca/archive/00000741/01/cbmhbchm_v23n1sethna.pdf .
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NEXT ISSUE – NOV. 7, 2008
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