Rina Arseneault served as associate director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre at UNB for 25 years. She retired at the end of December after devoting her life to advancing gender equality and pushing for legislative change to better support women affected by intimate partner violence. She has received numerous accolades and was recognized for her life’s work on Dec. 14 in Ottawa, where she received the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case. Below is her story, in her own words
I’m fairly certain that I was born a feminist. Growing up in a small New Brunswick village, I was always questioning. My mother referred to me as a “wonderful challenge.”
I have always believed in the need to question and to challenge. When I was young, feminist used to be a negative word – no one wanted to be labelled a feminist.
In the 1970s, I worked in a psychiatric women’s ward. There, I saw first-hand the toll that family violence played on women, families and society. The vast majority of the women there had such sad stories. Many of them experienced violence and neglect at the hands of their loved ones, and many were treated like throwaways.
Working within the shelter system, and then eventually as associate director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, I was able to immerse myself on the issues affecting women.
Since the 1970s and beyond, there has been an increased awareness of family violence and how members of the community can engage on how to prevent it.
Unfortunately, many cases still go unreported.
Dec. 10 marked the 70th anniversary of Human Rights Day acround the world. We should remember that family violence is a gendered human rights issue. Although women have tirelessly lobbied for members of the Canadian justice system to take on more proactive roles when it comes to family violence, there is still so much more to be done.
We need to change the social structures that allow family violence to continue. And we need to understand the socio-economic and intersectional aspects that shape women’s experiences and, thus, increase their risk of violence.
This is why it’s important to continue to fund and support organizations that help women in crisis, as well as research centres that examine the root causes of violence. Organizations such as the McQueen Fergusson Centre are important because they help bridge the gap between women’s experiences, and the development and accessibility of services and legislation.
It’s important to understand that women earn an average of 68.4 per cent of what men make. And they represent approximately two-thirds of all part-time workers. This puts them at an increased risk of poverty and financial dependency – key factors that contribute to higher rates of violence.
It’s important to understand that women continue to be responsible for the majority of care of children and the elderly. Family members, most notably children, who witness violence are at an increased risk of being victimized themselves. Seeing or hearing violence can be just as harmful as the abuse itself.
It’s important to understand that family violence affects everyone. Intimate partner violence costs $7.4 billion each year in Canada alone. This includes court, police and child protection costs, lost wages, damaged or destroyed property, and losses to employers.
It’s important to understand that socio-economic status and intersectional aspects, such as race, ethnicity, age and health, create more complexities when responding to violence.
These are the complicated issues that have been uncovered by researchers and those working on the frontlines. And these are the issues that have positively impacted legislation.
And yet, women continue to experience high levels of gender-based violence.
We have certainly come a long way in a very short time. But the issues are more complex now. We need to continue to unpack these issues and start talking about trauma.
As I look to the future, I want to remind others that we all have a responsibility to end violence. It’s important that all members of the public work together, to get informed and be involved. We’re not asking for 100 hours of your time. Just by educating yourself, you are arming yourself with the necessary tools to help.
Remember that violence does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone. And the next time you’re at an event and you witness something that doesn’t sit right with you, speak up. The longer you don’t say anything, the longer it will continue.
We can all be warriors in this battle for fundamental human rights for women. Let’s arm ourselves with knowledge and continue this fight. We owe it to our mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends. We owe it to ourselves and for future generations.
This op-ed was published in the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, Daily Gleaner, Times and Transcript and Tribune newspapers last December.
