Against Violence Against Women

Button, Canadian Women's Archives collection, 10-001-S4-I648, Archives and Special Collection, University of Ottawa Library. 

“Violence against women” encompasses all aggressive behaviour—whether individual or collective—directed against women. The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women: including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." (Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, 1993) The condemnation of violence against women is at the heart of second wave feminism.

In the 1970s, women began strategizing to combat violence against women emerged in the 1970s. Groups and coalitions mobilized to change laws. The first anti-rape crisis was composed of a militant self-help group. These front-line services were dedicated to assisting victims and providing them with hotline and counseling services. They disseminated legal information and offered socio-medical and socio-legal support. Second-wave feminists also favoured demonstrations, vigils and sit-ins as a means of denouncing violence against women (Coderre, 2017).

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