London, Ontario, Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for that very kind and warm welcome.

I would like to begin this evening with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, a quote that has always guided me; I hope it will inspire your willingness to act and be a source of hope for you during this conference.

Mahatma Gandhi said: “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”

In that spirit, the organizers of this important conference should be recognized for all the work they have done—and I want to mention three organizations in particular:

The Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System; the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children; and the Centre for Prevention Science of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

All three of these organizations are doing exceptional work to understand and counter the problem of violence against children, youth, and women in our society.

You are to be commended for your efforts in this crucial area, and for hosting this important gathering, where experts from around the world will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss innovative ways of dealing with this seemingly intractable problem.

All of you here today deserve society’s deepest gratitude because you are truly the defenders of the defenceless.

I can think of no issue more urgent than that of stopping violence against our young people, no matter what form it takes.

I have devoted many years of my professional life to establishing a network of shelters in Quebec for women victims of violence and their children.

Over the years, I spent a lot of time with women and children whose physical and psychological scars ran deep. They needed help rebuilding their lives.

I know how vital it is that the whole community be involved if we want to eradicate this scourge and fight the problem of indifference towards those in need.

Unfortunately, children still continue to suffer from violence in our world—even here in Canada, an egalitarian, prosperous, and progressive society.

All too frequently, we hear of shocking cases of neglect and violence, often suffered at the hands of someone the young victim knew, trusted, and even loved.

As the UN’s 2006 World Report on Violence Against Children states: “Surveys from around the world suggest that physical violence against children in the home is widespread in all regions.”

This violence takes many forms, including homicide, non-fatal physical violence, neglect, sexual violence, and witnessing domestic violence.

And it doesn’t matter if your country is rich or poor, whether it is a progressive democracy or not. Consider the Unicef Report Card 7, which provides an overview of child well-being in rich countries.

The 2007 study reveals that many OECD countries—in other words, many of the most developed and prosperous countries in the world—have considerable problems in the areas of child safety and neglect.

I was deeply saddened to note that our country has more than its share of challenges in this area.

According to the most recent study by the Public Health Agency of Canada, there were more than one hundred thousand substantiated cases of child maltreatment in Canada in 2003.

That figure represents 47 per cent of the child investigations that were conducted. It does not include the more than 28,000 cases that were investigated but could not be substantiated because of insufficient evidence.

Unfortunately, data from Quebec could not be included in much of the Canadian Incidence Study.

However, other sources reveal that violence against young people is a problem in that province as well. Every year, it is estimated that some 100,000 calls are placed to Youth Protection Centres by parents, neighbours, teachers, police officers and others who have cause for concern about the safety of certain young people.

About half of these calls are reported to youth protection services and, after an assessment, approximately 25,000 are followed up because the safety of the child is considered to be in jeopardy.

I’m sure many Canadians—though perhaps not too many in this room—would be shocked by the number of cases of substantiated child maltreatment every year in Canada.

You know it and I know it: it is a tragedy, pure and simple. A tragedy …

It is also a disgrace that all Canadians must suffer.

The Public Health Agency of Canada study also provides a number of suggestions as to how we can address violence against children. The study asked child welfare workers to compile a checklist of risk factors faced by caregivers that they noted during their investigations.

The three problems most frequently noted with regard to mothers and other female caregivers were domestic violence, lack of social supports, and mental health issues.

For fathers and other male caregivers, the most frequently noted stressors were lack of social supports, alcohol abuse, childhood maltreatment history, and mental health issues.

These problems are echoed internationally as well. According to the Unicef report card, the likelihood of a child being injured or killed is linked with poverty, single-parenthood … poor housing, weak family ties, and parental drug or alcohol abuse.

And to these, we must add children subjected to genital mutilations, slavery, war and conflicts, racism.

As you know, these forms of violence come with a terrible social cost that goes beyond the tragedy of the deaths and injuries that are its direct results.

Thankfully, we do have reason to be encouraged.

First of all, there is the work being done by all of you in this room. Your tireless efforts are helping to put the issue of violence against children and youth at the top of the public agenda.

Your research is invaluable, as it provides policy-makers with a clear understanding of the nature of the problem, and, as we’ve just seen, indications as to where action can be taken.

And public policy makers are paying attention. Recently, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights tabled a report entitled Children: The Silenced Citizens that deals with the effective implementation of Canada’s international obligations with respect to the rights of children.

The report addressed issues like corporal punishment, the UN Study on Violence, and child poverty.

I would like to share my personal experience with the issue of corporal punishment.

As many of you know, I spent the first eleven years of my life in Haiti, where the practice of beating children is often considered the only way to discipline them.

This is a tragic consequence of the slavery system that prevailed for more than three hundred years in Haiti.

I remember people actually selling whips on the streets of Port-au-Prince when I was a child. They were the same whips that were used on the plantations.

Just like every other child in Haiti at the time, I felt the pain of this method of discipline. Any adult could decide at any time that a child needed to be disciplined in that way. This has not changed today.

These practices leave deep scars. They teach children that the only way to resolve conflict or to express disagreement is through physical violence.

Imagine the work needed to reverse this pattern. But it is possible—and quite necessary—to overcome this conditioning. I for one would never think of subjecting my daughter to any kind of physical punishment.

What impressed me the most when I arrived in Canada as a child was the discovery that such practices were condemned, and that children were protected from violence under the law.

We are fortunate to live in a country that recognizes that these issues are of utmost importance and require our constant vigilance.

In fact, earlier today, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of young women participating in a research project with the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children; the project is led by Dr. Helene Berman.

These amazing young women told me what they have learned from this experience, why they got involved in the first place, and what, in their opinion, needs to be done as we move forward.

I found the experience so energizing, and was very impressed by the quality and clear-sightedness of their ideas.

We need more of that, and more meetings like this.

We also need more dialogue; dialogue among experts like you and policy-makers; dialogue among young people and those of us pledged to help them; and dialogue with the victims of violence.

We need to help them recover, to understand that they are not to blame, to help them cope with their anger, and to move toward a full recovery.

We must also encourage everyone to speak out against domestic violence.

Because violence thrives in silence.

We must break these silences— however frightening or embarrassing—for the good of our children.

They have no voice in the public discourse except the one we lend them. For their sake, and for ours, let us speak up loudly and speak out often, until we end this violence.

I hope you have a very thought-provoking and enriching conference and I thank you for including me.