KCA Hosts a Webinar on Understanding and Preventing Gender Based Violence

Written by KCA Admin on 20 August 2021. Posted in News

Toronto, Canada – Monday, August 30, 2021

Kenyan Canadian Association (KCA) hosted the inaugural virtual event on August 21, 2021, within a new initiative aimed at Understanding and Preventing Gender-based Violence (GBV). The event was part of a high-impact webinar series supported by funding from the Government of Canada through the Canadian Women’s Foundation, Safer + Stronger COVID-19 Emergency Grant.

The KCA is proud of the tremendous success of this webinar which was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube and has reached over 500 people to date. Viewers gained valuable knowledge on the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in Canada and were given information on resources for prevention.

The webinar was attended by MPP for Toronto-St. Paul’s Dr. Jill Andrew, and other high-level panelists including Margarita Pintin-Perez from Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants: OCASI; Carla Neto, a Community Program Manager at Women’s Habitat Etobicoke; and Avon Harris, a Community Outreach Manager at the Redwood. Additional speakers included Genesis Bowen, KCA Social Service Worker and Catherine Matimu, KCA Board Secretary and Newcomers & Settlement Director. The webinar was hosted by Sanjit Kaur, KCA Women and Gender Affairs Director.

In her introductory remarks, Genesis Bowen, provided an overview and definition of gender-based violence (GBV). She spoke about common types of GBV, highlighted vulnerable communities, as well as linked this information to women issues in Canada, and how this often is a catalyst to the prevalence of GBV in our community.

Chief Guest, Dr. Jill Andrew, a long-time leader on issues of gender, race, and social justice, discussed the rise of GBV and intimate partner violence during the pandemic. She urged for more supports from the Ontario Government to end GBV.

Margarita Pintin-Perez, a qualitative researcher, social worker, and Senior Coordinator for the Initiative to end GBV at OCASI, emphasized on impacts of GBV among Non-Status, Refugee and Immigrant (NSRI) women across Canada.

Carla Neto, a transformational leader and social justice advocate, provided information on the ever-evolving needs of those impacted by GBV. During her presentation she focused on building effective and innovative response systems for those impacted.

Avon Harris who is a Community Outreach Manager at the Redwood, an organization that offers safety and healing for women and their children fleeing abuse, concluded the expert panelist portion of the webinar by providing further GBV education as well as offering information on support services for victims and survivors.

The webinar provided a safe and inclusive space online to discuss GBV, spread awareness and education on the issue as well as directed people to useful resources and services to help end instances of gender-based violence in our community.

Kenyan Canadian Association - KCA is a federal not-for-profit organization that seeks to address the issues affecting Black and underrepresented communities in Canada while assisting newcomers to settle and make a positive contribution in the society as they endeavor to achieve their goals.

Look out for future webinars in this series:

Crisis Intervention and Support for Survivors and their Families - September 11th, 2021
Legal and Justice System - September 25th, 2021
Gender-Based Violence and the Media - October 16th, 2021
Gender Equality & UN Women HeForShe - November 6th, 2021

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