Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my Member’s statement today I was very proud to speak to the issue of V-Day North here and the campaign to work to stop violence against women. My questions will be to the Minister who would be responsible for the Status of Women. Mr. Speaker, one of the statistics I highlighted which was the rates of spousal abuse in the Northwest Territories are 5 percent higher than the national average. What strategies does the government have in place that will combat this problem and what has shown results on dealing with this terrible statistic? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member knows, this government has been involved with the Family Violence Action Strategy and we work with the coalition to address this issue. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, would the Minister be able to highlight some of the resources they have committed directly to the V-Day North campaign or any other campaign that has gotten out there to stop the violence against women? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, specific to that event, the organizers had asked me if I could attend and say a few words. I was happy to accept that invitation and participate in the event. Mr. Speaker, under the NWT Family Violence Action Plan, which is now in phase II, we fund shelter stabilization enhancement funds. We fund funding for non-shelter regions. We also work with Justice and we have contracted YWCA to deliver a program on children who witness violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, what programs does the ministry support for men, specifically to help curb this terrible trend where we have a 5 percent increase above the national average which is directed at violence against women? What programs does the department have specifically targeted at men to bring down this terrible, horrible statistic? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, as the Member knows, the Department of Health and Social Services and the Status of Women are part of the coalition that works on family violence issues. One of our initiatives that Strategic Investments committee Building Our Future has approved is a program for men who use violence. That program is being delivered by the Department of Justice. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Your final supplementary, Mr. Hawkins.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Is the Minister able to point towards any specific statistic that shows and demonstrates that our terrible average of being on the national worst list of abuse against women is coming down? Is she able to point specifically at any numbers or statistics that definitely define us as working towards that goal of ending violence against women? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I believe through the work that the government has been involved in, we are better able to keep track of stats, and the stats do not show a downward movement. We still stay at the high end of the increasing numbers of family violence and domestic violence and other violence in the Territories per capita. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
