The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace stands in solidarity with the movement for Black Lives, and the urgent need to challenge white supremacy and violence in Canada, the United States and around the world.
We unequivocally condemn systematic racism in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, David McAtee, Chantel Moore and countless others who have been killed by racist violence.
Together, we can, and must, put an end to systemic racism by actively dismantling systems of oppression.The murder of George Floyd catalyzed global protests against pervasive violence and discrimination experienced by Black and Indigenous Peoples due to an over-militarized police force in the United States. In Canada, racism manifests through over-policing and militarization in law enforcement resulting in Black and Indigenous Peoples facing increased racial profiling and a much greater risk of police brutality. A 2018 report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) found that Black residents in Toronto are 20 times more likely to be killed by police than white people.
Racism plagues Canada and cannot be addressed merely as a moral issue but as a systemic issue of oppression through exclusionary practices, policies and state-condoned violence. Systemic racism exists not only in the state-sanctioned killing of Black and Indigenous Peoples and in willful, ongoing and historic neglect, it also permeates every part of our social systems and practices. An unjust system of cultural domination and hegemony was clearly illustrated in the case of the National Inquiry into the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. These murders and injustices are the result of an oppressive, exploitative system where racism is used in maintaining the domination and exploitation of Black and Indigenous Peoples. VOW reaffirms our commitment to principles of anti-violence and anti-oppression and stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Colonial legacies, class, status, and race divisions all contribute to systemic racism. Being anti-racist means challenging individuals and institutions that are perpetuating racism through their words, policies, and practices, and holding friends, family, and peers accountable to doing the same. It means taking intentional steps, along with daily action to unlearn racist ideas.
Ending systemic racism in the criminal justice system involves questioning systems of normalized violence and punishment where community justice, peace and security does not include a militarized response. This requires structural changes and a rejection of a policing system based on masculine ideas of power, aggression, fear, violence and white supremacy. Additionally, it calls for a transformation of our idea of security towards an understanding centered around the protection of human rights – a shift from national security to human security which women’s organizations have advocated for for decades. Making these changes requires shifting funding from militarized police to both community-based supports for vulnerable people at risk in our unequal society, and to alternative, nonviolent modes of protection, such as those modeled by Bear Clan Patrols and the Black Legal Action Centre.
As women, activists, agents of anti-oppression, and as individuals with morals and empathy, we call for the sustained and generous support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada, and stand in solidarity with the peaceful protest of unjust systems of oppression, violence and war. VOW stands firm behind non-violent intervention that brings about the social and political transformation required to end all forms of violence.
In peace and solidarity,
The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace