Philippine Women Centre of British Columbia
Statement

Filipino women in B.C. join national day of remembrance and action on violence against women

December 6, 2006

Spurred by unprecedented attacks on women’s rights and lives, as Filipino women in British Columbia (B.C.), we declare our allegiance on today’s national day of remembrance and action to combating violence against women in all its cruel forms. We raise our voices of protest against the violence Filipino women suffer in B.C. and across Canada, against the extrajudicial killings of women that continue unabated in the Philippines, and for justice for all Filipino women fighting for women’s equality and liberation.

We are angered that women are not a priority in Canadian society. With the recent announcement of the closure of 12 of the 16 Status of Women Canada offices by April 1 next year under Prime Minister Harper’s government, our efforts to advance women’s equality and human rights, and tackle violence against women are hindered. These assaults further contribute to the marginalization of Filipino women in Canada who hold subordinate positions and are undervalued in society particularly through the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). The LCP perpetuates our modern-day slavery and shackles us into a cycle of poverty, debt, and even domestic violence.

With additional challenges of immigrating and integrating into Canadian society, Filipino women also suffer isolation or lack of support in breaking away from their abusive partners and rebuilding their lives. We hold Harper’s government responsible for the lack of political will to address the burdens of immigrant women whose lives are at risk as a daily reality.

As we commemorate the 14 young women killed by an enraged gunman who yelled “I hate feminists” before opening fire at L’École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989, we also remember women killed in the Philippines under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo since January 2001. As of 16 November 2006, a total of 83 women, 46 of whom were women human rights defenders, have been summarily executed by Arroyo’s soldiers, death squads, and paramilitary groups. This increased level of violence targets growing progressive movements and grassroots resistance to anti-people government policies and its defense of their rights.

We also praise the 22-year old Filipina Nicole in her recently sentenced court battle against four U.S. Marines who were involved in raping then dumping her semi-conscious and half-naked body “like a pig” by a road in Subic City in the Philippines, the former site of one of the two largest ever overseas bases of the U.S. military. With only one of the soldiers found guilty while the three others have been acquitted, we join the call of Filipino women worldwide for the immediate abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and other unequal Republic of the Philippines-U.S. defense agreements.

On this national day of remembrance and action on violence against women across Canada, we declare the ever urgent need to maintain our vigilance as women, strengthen our communities, and stand for all the mothers, sisters, and daughters who have experienced violence because they are women and for upholding human rights.

For more information or to get involved:
call (604) 215-1103
or visit website: http://www.kalayaancentre.net/