OPINION =MORE WORK NEEDED © 70 ELIMINATE THIS 3 TERRIBLE PROBLEM, = WRITES LAURIE = HEPBURN LAURIE HEPBURN Column Twelve years ago, Hal- ton Women's Place created an event where men walk in olence against women and their crucial role in preven- tion. That was ourfirststepin agement anda rel- atively new phenomenon at the time for the violence ainst women sector. This event was Hope in High Heels. we are proud of our decision to include joys and men in our missi- and men. For boys, we know it may be more helpful to learn this role from anoth- er male influence. This is one reason why Halton Women's Place employs a h our on. vi- olence. Beyond our walk event, have heard from men across the region who want to be male allies for Halton Women's Place and help raise awareness about the issue in their communi- “Its an issue in which their daughters, nieces, friends and family mem- bers may become victims, and their sons, nephews, friends or family may be- come perpetrators. le know that boys and men have the power to end gender-based. violence. This will occur through ed- ucation, challenging con- versations and placing re- sponsibility for changing behaviour back with boys throug! Public Education and Vio- lence Prevention Program. In April we welcomed a new male public educator, Husayn, to the role to facil- itate these discussions and reach this audience as well as host our male Engage- ment program within the schools. It is important for boys to know that they have Chokes if they are current- ly living in a home where violence is present. They do not have to follow this same pattern. We must teach our youth how to stand up against the violence or mi- sogyny they might witness. It is also an important message for men. Men have a responsibility to call out inappropriate jokes and ‘sations about girls and women. It is only with their advocacy and energy that we can make big soci- etal shifts in the prevention elimination of violence against women. More men in our com- munity need to be a part of this conversation — a part of this solution. It goes above and beyond our Sep- tember Hope in High Heel Metroland file photo Hope in High Heels has become an important tool in the fight to end violence against women. walks. We are looking for deep conversations and fol- low up actions on how boys men can create a com- munity of safety within tol n. As Father's Day ap- proaches, the most impor- tant role that the men and fathers in our community can play is to actively ex- plore their own influence m ending the issue of vio- "AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD ENDING GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE One concrete action step you can to take this month is: every time you hear ofan incident of violence within stay, ask why ‘ian “he 2 Soe seh it in our society al- lowed h him to feel that hold- ing power over his partner was appropriate or OK? more information on our Public Education splace .com/public-educa- Laurie Hepburn is the executive director at Hal- ton Women's Place. She can be reached at Lhep- burn@haltonwomen- splace.com. lence against women. 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