Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Domestic violence is all too prevalent, Mr. Speaker, but domestic violence involving women and girls is an area that is especially concerning. The NWT is not immune to domestic violence, unfortunately. We are reminded on a daily basis of incidents that have occurred in one or more of our communities. Most of them report violence against women. Not only does the violence have an impact on the victim, but the offender’s actions affect everyone around the victim, children most often, but other family members and friends are also impacted by the trauma. They all must continue to deal with the impact of the violence as the victim struggles to recover physically and mentally and as they try to assist and provide support to the victim.
There is also potentially the trauma of a court case. Often the stress on the victim is too much and they turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with it. That creates another vicious cycle and children again bear the brunt of the resulting damage.
As a government, we provide resources to assist the victims of family violence, and shelters are the most visible and noticeable result of our funding. Some of our communities have shelters for women and girls, but many do not. That is something which must change, Mr. Speaker.
As we have heard earlier this week, there exists worldwide an organization called V-Day which strives to create awareness of violence against women and girls. The NWT Chapter is called V-Day North, and for four years now volunteers have been highlighting this issue and creating awareness through public events. There will be three events this year. The first is a live comedy event tomorrow night. The second is the screening of a documentary film which will be held February 28th, and the third is a play that will take place March 10th, 11th and 12th. Each event has a minimal entry fee of $10, I think. Most of the proceeds are donated to NGOs here in Yellowknife, with 10 percent going to fund shelter programs in Haiti. Those two NGOs are the Alison McAteer House and the Centre for Northern Families, both of which provide shelter and support for women and children fleeing violence.
On behalf of them and V-Day North, I encourage everyone to attend one of the V-Day events coming up. A small contribution from each of us will have a huge impact on these two shelters and their clients. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
