ONWA: Walking Together – 1 year anniversary

Press Release

March 1, 2017

For over 46 years, The Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) has advocated for safety, equality and justice for Indigenous women. Our 1989 groundbreaking report, Breaking Free, exposed the true extent of the violence they faced. After building on this work for nearly another three decades, ONWA was pleased at the announcement of Walking Together in 2016, and the opportunity for partnership with Ontario to address the issue of violence against Indigenous women.

Over the past twelve months, ONWA has developed the Circles of Care Program with Family Well Being funding through the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. Circles of Care supports Indigenous women in navigating the complexities of the child welfare system in order to keep their family together. Violence experienced by women and their children can break families apart, and complex systems that do not support the needs of the family contribute to the cycle of violence.

ONWA is encouraged by the work that is being done through Walking Together, yet this is only the beginning. It is important to respect, promote, and support the work being done by Indigenous women across Ontario to bring an end to all forms of violence, discrimination and oppression. Continual evaluation of Walking Together is necessary to ensure $100 million dollars in funding has maximum impact towards eliminating violence, and it must be recognized that Indigenous women’s leadership, as is ONWA’s mandate, is a crucial element to success.

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For more information, please contact:

Jolene Banning
Public Relations Coordinator
Phone: 807-577-1490 ∙ Cell: 807-356-1225
Email: jbanning@onwa.ca

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