Yukon Women’s Organizations Call Upon Yukon Party to Address Gender-Based Violence
Image description: White circle with text ‘End transphobia and sexism in the Yukon Legislative Assembly’, with flowers around edge of circle. Light blue background.
“We need diverse spaces, places that welcome all voices in politics. So these comments really only serve to tell women and LGBTQ2S+ people that there’s no place for them.”
On May 3rd, CBC Yukon reported that two Yukon Party members of legislative assembly participated in a group chat that made sexist and transphobic comments about Yukon NDP Leader, Kate White, and Premiere Sandy Silver’s genitals. Read the entire story here.
White River First Nation, Assembly of First Nations Yukon, the Council of Yukon First Nations, and Queer Yukon have spoke out about the harm that these two Yukon Party members have caused and have suggested repair including education, accountability, resignations, committing to ongoing relationships with queer and women’s groups, and more.
“Jokes about “women with penises’’ are blatantly transphobic. These comments and their focus on an individual’s genitalia are not only rude - they are dehumanizing and promote a dangerous culture of transphobia in the Yukon.”
Stand Up to Transphobia and Sexism
Community members have called for folks to gather at the Yukon Legislative Assembly and at the Front Street picnic shelter to ‘make a clear statement that Yukoners will not accept this from our elected representatives’ on May 11th at noon. More information on the Facebook event.
Can’t make it to the event? Feel free to show your support by posting this image DWS created:
Image description: White circle with text ‘End transphobia and sexism in the Yukon Legislative Assembly’, with flowers around edge of circle. Light blue background.
Women’s COalition Statement
On Friday, May 7th, Yukon Women’s Coalition released a statement. Dawson Women’s Shelter supports this letter:
On May 3rd 2021, Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon issued a public apology after two members of his party made sexually explicit comments in a group chat. The messages include inappropriate comments about all three-party leaders, and include references to and comparisons between the sizes of their genitalia. We are writing this open letter to express the Yukon Women’s Coalition’s dissatisfaction with the apology made by the Yukon Party on behalf of MLA’s Stacey Hassard and Wade Istchenko. Furthermore, we are calling upon Yukon Party leader Currie Dixon to take more serious action in addressing misogyny, sexism and harassment within his party, and to let Yukoners know unequivocally that words, behaviours and actions that contribute to gender-based violence are unacceptable within our Government.
The Yukon Women’s Coalition is a network of equality-seeking non-government organizations whose collective focus is to improve the wellbeing of women-identified Yukoners across the territory. We aim to improve institutional and individual responses to gender-based violence here in Yukon. The comments made by Stacey Hassard and Wade Istchenko were inappropriate, unprofessional and underlie a culture where toxic gendered behaviour is accepted and normalized. Discriminatory comments like these, wherever they are written or spoken, contribute to male-entitled environments that increase barriers for women to participate fully. Group chats like these are of serious concern when we question why we don’t have more women running for elected office or represented within our Legislature: because men in positions of power make comments that devalue and debase women in leadership positions. Until we root out language and behaviours that reinforce sexism, we will continue to have communities where women and LGBTQ2S+ individuals are not given the respect and dignity needed to provide their full potential.
Mr. Istchenko, in his statement said that he commits to “learning from these mistakes”, and Mr. Hassard stated he will “advocate for a territory where all Yukoners feel welcome”. Training to address workplace harassment and bullying is a decent starting off point, but we believe that in order for these publicly elected officials to truly understand the harm of their words, they need to engage on learning about how sexism and misogyny perpetuate women’s inequity. Gender-based violence is an incredibly important issue here in Yukon, where rates of domestic violence and sexualized assault are higher than almost anywhere else in the country.
In closing, we urge the Yukon Party to recognize this as an opportunity to engage more deeply with the issue of gender-based violence. We challenge Mr. Dixon to hold his party members to the high standard of accountability befitting their roles as elected members of the Yukon Legislature. This is an opportunity to take a stand against gender inequality in this Territory, by setting an example to all men and boys watching that they all have a role to play in ending gender-based violence and to show all women and girls in this Territory that you are a leader in upholding our safety and our right to be included fully within our communities. As a Coalition, we are committed to doing this, and invite all Yukoners, including Mr. Dixon, Mr. Istchenko and Mr. Hassard, to join us in this important work through action.
Signed by the following members of the Yukon Women’s Coalition:
Les EssentiElles
Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council
Yukon Women’s Transition Home
Yukon Status of Women Council
Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre
For further information contact:
Sofia Ashley
Executive Director, Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre
C: 867.332.0904
Email: ExecutiveDirector@vfwomenscentre.com
May is Sexual Violence Prevention Month
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