Reclaim the Streets Friday — Toronto 

The Deets:

Friday June 6, 2014

Regent Park Community Health Centre
465 Dundas Street East
5:30pm – Community Meal & Music
6:00pm Rally
6:30pm March 

The Call Out:

Fwd:

“Hello friends and allies,

One last reminder that Reclaim the Streets rally and march is tomorrow (Friday) evening and we just want to do one last push to get everyone out! Please forward the information below to your networks, print the flyer to distribute, and call up community members to join! Tomorrow’s march comes after news yesterday that the Harper government plans to continue a program of criminalizing sex work and putting women’s lives at risk.

If Bill C36 is allowed to pass, we will see increased levels of violence and lack of protection for street involved women. (See a good de-brief from Pivot Legal here: http://www.pivotlegal.org/the_new_sex_work_legislation_explained)

Tomorrow’s march also comes just days before Toronto City Council will hear a motion on June 10th to open up 24 Hour Drop-in spaces for women – an important step forward in providing low-barrier, safe space for women that are affected by the exact policies that the Harper government is making worse.

That same day, City Council will also hear a motion around saving the vital Red Door Shelter. ALSO coming to council is a report back on access to services for non-status people – creating a Sanctuary City.

So tomorrow we have a lot to march on the streets for – to demand an end to all forms of violence against women – including unfair laws, policies, and the lack of safe space that put our lives at risk.
JOIN US ON THE STREETS: Downtown East Women Reclaim the Steets!Rally and March to Stop Violence Against Women

When: Friday, June 6th, 2014

Where: Regent Park Community Health Centre
465 Dundas Street East
5:30pm – Community Meal & Music
6:00pm Rally
6:30pm March

*Kid friendly *Free meal *TTC tokens available *Wheelchair accessible rally space & march

In August 2008, Carolyn Connolly, an Indigenous woman, was found dead in an alleyway at Sherbourne and Shuter Streets.

She was one of the hundreds and hundreds of Aboriginal women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered in this country over the last 30 years, many of whom experienced the same racism, poverty, homelessness, criminalization and violence that women in the downtown east of Toronto face every day.

There have been many other community members that we have lost over the years – friends and family- and many daily occurrences of violence that go unmentioned.

Over the last year there have been several incidents of violence against women, especially homeless women and sex workers, in our neighbourhood, including on September 22nd at the corner of Dundas & Sherbourne where a woman was assaulted twice in one night. The police failed to warn the community about the perpetrators despite having video footage of their identities.

Women in the downtown east have been fighting to reclaim our neighbourhood. We have fought for increased shelters and a 24 hour drop-in space for women. We continue to fight for what we need to survive and thrive – housing, shelter, safe space, enough income, safe work, just to name a few – and for a society free of violence against women. Join us June 6th as we come together to reclaim the streets of our community and fight for what we need!

Demands of the 2014 Reclaim the Streets Rally & March:
• Justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women
• Safe space now: Increase shelter beds & 24 hour drop-in space
• Safe, affordable and accessible housing
• Stop the upscale takeover of our neighborhood: communities not condos!
• No criminalization of sex work and drug use
• End violence against all women!

*We recognize that patriarchal violence affects all self-identified women, gender non-conforming, and two-spirit people. That is who will lead our event and the march. Everyone is welcome; men are respectfully asked to show solidarity by marching behind.

For more information and if you would like to endorse this event, please email [email protected] or call Josie at: 416-364-2261 x2228

Organized by: the Downtown East Women Reclaim the Streets Committee including Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Sistering, Maggie’s Toronto Sex Worker Action Project, Streethealth, Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape, The Works

Endorsed by: South Riverdale Community Health Centre, No More Silence, Native Women’s Resource Centre Toronto, CUPE Local 4308, Assaulted Women and Children Counsellor/Advocate program at George Brown College, Community Action Centre Student Association George Brown College, Planned Parenthood Toronto, METRAC, Ryerson Students Union 

#30#

Krystalline Kraus

krystalline kraus is an intrepid explorer and reporter from Toronto, Canada. A veteran activist and journalist for rabble.ca, she needs no aviator goggles, gas mask or red cape but proceeds fearlessly...