International Day for Malala

International Day for Malala – July 12, 2022

Many will remember Malala, who at age 17, received the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating on behalf of young girls in her country, Pakistan to receive an education along with the boys who were schooled without question.  Pakistan was under the rule of the Taliban and still today education for young girls is forbidden.  As a youngster wanting the opportunity to learn, Malala defied this rule and went to school – and one day was brutally attacked for her action against the rules of the Government.  This forced her family to flee Pakistan for medical help and also to protect her family members.  Her passion and commitment did not wane and up to the present day, Malala continues to use her voice on behalf of the many girls and women desiring an education in her country and other countries around the world. 

On July 12, 2013, the United Nations called for world wide access to education with the institution of Malala Day.   Her words that day still are heard across our broken world: “Malala Day is not my day.  Today is the day of every woman, of every girl, of every boy who have raised their voice for their rights.”  (UN Address, July 12, 2013)

A line from our own Sisters of St. Joseph Statement, Moving With Love, comes to mind for personal reflection on the current situation in our world:

            “We commit to risk taking and justice making”…

What risks do we need to take to build a more just world for all?

Where are we being invited to use our voice to promote justice for all? 

-Sister Ann MacDonald, csj

A Human Rights Approach to Human Trafficking

After consulting with partner organizations from across Ontario, we urge the Provincial Government to implement a human rights approach and to include 5 points in the human trafficking strategy.

Provincial Human Trafficking Strategy Creates Unjust Competition for Resources and Divides Survivors as Deserving and Undeserving.  

Recently, the Government of Ontario announced a five-year strategy to address human trafficking and promised investments up to $307 million to raise awareness, protect victims, intervene early, support survivors, and hold offenders accountable.[1]

While the government’s efforts are commendable, particularly its commitment to funding peer and survivor-led work, the strategy and the call for applications focuses exclusively on child and youth sexual exploitation. "Human trafficking is fundamentally a human rights issue.  Experience tells us that people become vulnerable to being trafficked when they're experiencing isolation, social exclusion, homelessness, poverty, gender inequality, racism, and colonialism. This is the most effective level at which to address exploitation and human trafficking in all its forms. It requires us to change as a society; to create good job opportunities and strong social protections for all, regardless of immigration status" says Sue Wilson, the Director of the Office for Systemic Justice.   

The Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, after consulting with partner organizations from across Ontario, released a statement urging the Provincial Government to implement a human rights approach and to include the following points in the human trafficking strategy:

• Address the root causes of human trafficking by creating easy access to sufficient levels of social assistance, comprehensive health care including mental health services, gender parity in wages, and good jobs that pay a living wage.  All persons need easy access to social protections, regardless of immigration status.

• Prioritize funding for educational programs (led by grassroots community organizations) which are focused on preventing human trafficking by advancing equity and addressing root causes such as gender inequality, systemic racism, colonialism, ableism, rape culture, and more.

• Raise awareness of current forms of labour trafficking in Ontario, highlighting aspects of structural racism and economic exploitation.

• Increase labour inspections for the protection of all workers in Ontario, especially migrant workers.

• License and regulate contractors and recruiters of migrant workers.

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For more information, contact:

Sue Wilson, CSJ, Office for Systemic Justice

[1] https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2020/03/ontarios-new-anti-human-trafficking-strategy.html

The Transformative Energy of Black Lives Matter

As we experience the transformative energy of the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping around the world, it is a critical moment to reflect on unconscious bias and the racist assumptions which affect Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour communities in our own city and country.  It’s not an easy thing to do.  Our cultural tendency to view things through the lens of the individual blinds us to much of what’s going on in society, including systemic racism. It can also blind us to the graced potential for transformation which exists even within imperfect social actions such as protests marred by the violence of a few.  The challenge is to focus on and follow the graced energy for transformation which is working to bring about greater wholeness and justice. In that spirit, we revisit this short excerpt from a 2019 newsletter from the Federation Office for Systemic Justice.

Robin DiAngelo, who is white, wrote a book called White Fragility (2018). She insists that white people are all racist, and whites who think they’re not racist cause the most damage of all. DiAngelo explains “we are taught to think about racism only as discrete acts committed by individual people, rather than as a complex, interconnected system”.

The individual framing of the issue means we can focus on changing a few individuals who say or do hateful things. It means we don’t have to examine our own unconscious racist assumptions. It means society doesn’t have to change, just individual ‘bad’ persons.

In our society, whites have held, and continue to hold, nearly all the positions of social, political, and economic power. So, the pre-judgements (thoughts, feelings and assumptions into which we are socialized) which whites tend to hold about people of colour have become institutionalized; that is, white prejudice has shaped the structures and systems of our society.

DiAngelo points to a New York Times article from 2016 which illumines the degree to which white people still hold the seats of power. The article is based on the U.S. context but is relevant to Canada. Here are a few examples:

• Ten richest people - 100% white

• Highest-levels of politics – 90% white

• People who decide which television shows are available – 93% white

• People who decide which books are available – 90% white

• People who decide which news is covered – 85% white

• Teachers – 82% white

These statistics reveal “power and control by a racial group that is in the position to disseminate and protect its own self-image, worldview, and interests across the entire society”. Whiteness becomes the norm, while other races are ‘othered.’ The impacts can be devastating:

• Racialized people in Canada are significantly more likely to live in poverty. The 2016 Census showed that 20.8% of peoples of colour are low-income compared to 12.2% of non-racialized people.

• In 2015, there was a 69% high school graduation rate for Black students and 50% for Indigenous students, versus 84% for White students.

• People of colour living in Ontario have higher unemployment rates than White residents. Racialized men are 24% more likely to be unemployed than non-racialized men. Racialized women are 43% more likely to be unemployed than non-racialized men.

(https://colourofpoverty.ca/)

 -Sister Sue Wilson, csj