Ending Violence Against Women

Feminist law reform is at the heart of NAWL's work to eliminate violence against women. Our approach aims to transform laws and systems to fully recognize survivors' experiences, address the complex dynamics of gender-based violence, and place women's safety, dignity, and autonomy at the center of decisions that affect their lives.

Femicide and violence against women and girls continue to rage unabated across Canada requiring urgent and ongoing intervention. Violence against women is shaped by racism, homophobia, transphobia, colonialism, and ableism which means that ending violence against women requires a systemic and intersectional approach.

Legislative interventions which aim to prevent and respond to violence against women must also be framed to address women’s poverty and economic security, which structures and shapes women’s experiences of violence, especially for racialized women, disabled women, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and women with precarious immigration status.

Ending violence against women also requires addressing both the historic and ongoing impacts of colonialism. The voices and needs of Indigenous women and communities must be at the centre of this work and NAWL calls upon all governments, institutions, and individuals to work collectively towards enacting the Calls for Justice outlined by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.