Nov. 11th, 2016

Ottawa event on missing murdered Indigenous women and girls features Colombian peace builder, December 1

(Ottawa, ON) – The root causes of violence against women in Canada and Colombia, and how to stop it, will be the focus of No Mas! End Violence Against Women Now – a panel discussion sponsored by KAIROS Canada on December 1 in Ottawa, featuring Colombian and Canadian activists. It will be held at the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), 233 Gilmour Street.

The panel will include Isabel Caicedo Polanco, a community leader and member of Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), a Colombian grassroots women’s rights organization and KAIROS partner; Rose Mary Cooper, Pauktuutit, Inuit Women of Canada; Francyne Joe, Native Women’s Association of Canada; and Bridget Tolley, Families of Sisters in Spirit. Barbara Dumont-Hill, an Algonquin Elder from Kitigan Zibi, will open the panel.

WHAT No Mas! End Violence Against Women Now – A panel discussion

WHEN Thursday, December 1; 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

WHERE Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), 233 Gilmour Street.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS – 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Isabel Caicedo Polanco is also available for interviews during the day.

WHY To highlight the root causes of violence against women in Canada and Colombia, and the role of women’s rights organizations in ending it.

WHO Isabel Caicedo Polanco, Organización Femenina Popular. A translator will assist.

Rose Mary Cooper, Pauktuutit, Inuit Women of Canada

Francyne Joe, Native Women’s Association of Canada

Bridget Tolley, Families of Sisters in Spirit

Barbara Dumont-Hill, Algonquin Elder from Kitigan Zibi

In addition to Ottawa, Ms. Polanco’s Canadian tour will take her to Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, November 23 – December 3. The tour is timed to coincide with the International Day to End Violence against Women (November 25). The United Nations has declared the period between November 25 and December 10, International Human Rights day, as 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. KAIROS is marking these days by joining with partners to host a speaking tour of women human rights defenders from Colombia and Canada.

The OFP is one of the most well-respected, resilient and effective women’s rights organizations in Colombia. For more than 44 years OFP has worked in Magdaleno Medio, a region that has suffered human rights violations and violence as a result of the Colombian war. Their work includes accompanying marginalized women, defending human rights, and promoting peace. KAIROS has been in partnership with the OFP for more than 15 years.

KAIROS is organizing the tour with ally organizations working on Colombian issues, women’s rights, Indigenous rights and MMIWG. These include: Aboriginal Legal Services, Americas Policy Group, Amnesty International, Colombian Action Solidarity Alliance, Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine, Common Frontiers, Families of Sisters in Spirit, InterPares, Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network, Native Women’s Association of Canada, Nobel Women’s Initiative, No More Silence, Pauktuutit, Peace Brigades International-Canada, Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie, Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec Native Women, and the University of Toronto.

About KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

KAIROS is a faith-based social justice organization of ten Canadian churches and religious organizations. It focuses on Indigenous rights, international human rights, gender justice and ecological justice. We deliberate on issues of common concern, advocate for social change and join with people of faith and goodwill in action for social transformation. Learn more: kairoscanada.org