Government announces new initiatives to address gender based violence

Women and Gender Equality Minister Pam Parsons says this includes the establishment of a ministerial committee to end gender-based violence, which she will chair.

Government has announced several new actions to address gender-based violence in the province. Women and Gender Equality Minister Pam Parsons says this includes the establishment of a ministerial committee to end gender-based violence, which she will chair. She says this committee will create multiple avenues for community involvement in its work, including regular presentations, focus groups, and other opportunities, to share insights, concerns and ideas. Change will require shared learning, mutual support, and honest conversations. Parsons says the onus for change is on everyone and together we can help rebuild lives, where survivors have access to the supportive and effective programs they need, not just today, but in the long term.

Meanwhile,  as part of the Policing Transformation Working Group’s mandate to help shape policing services, the group looked at the impacts of gender-based and intimate partner violence. Justice and Public Safety Minister Bernard Davis announced that RCMP NL will adopt a new policy to allow for the anonymous storage of sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) kits. The RNC will adopt the national Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review model and additional resources will be allocated for the RNC’s intimate partner violence unit. As well, a joint committee between the RNC and the RCMP will oversee intimate partner violence matters.