The Hot Pink Challenge: Candidates Urged to Make Vancouver a Women-Friendly City
VANCOUVER, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 – Women and allies will rally at Vancouver City Hall Tuesday to launch the 2018 Hot Pink Paper (HPP) Campaign. Developed by Women Transforming Cities in collaboration with women’s organizations the Hot Pink Paper outlines 11 recommendations that all candidates and parties are being urged to incorporate in their platforms for Vancouver’s municipal election.
“Women and girls are working for cities but cities are not working for women and girls” says former Vancouver City Councillor and Women Transforming Cities Co-Chair Ellen Woodsworth. “From violence against women, to a lack of affordable housing and public transit, to the need for electoral reform, women and girls face crises not being addressed by city policies”.
“Women and women’s organizations have sought inclusion and equity since the beginning of Vancouver as a city.” said Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director BWSS. “Today in 2018, homelessness for Indigenous women has increased. While the opioid crisis rages on, Vancouver still only has five detox beds dedicated for women. Due to conflict and climate change more and more women and girls are migrating to Vancouver and Vancouver has yet to operationalize the sanctuary city protocol. And domestic and sexual violence continue unabated representing the majority of major crime reported by Vancouver Police Department. Will the candidates prioritize women and girls in this year’s municipal election furthering the effort initiated decades ago?”
According to Janice Abbott, Executive Director of ATIRA Housing Resources Society “In order to remove barriers and create safe, appropriate and affordable housing for women and children, the municipal, provincial and federal governments must first recognize that women and children have unique housing needs, then work together to remove conflicting bylaws and regulations, unsupportive policies and above all, listen to women, especially those who have experienced homelessness or are living in inadequate, unsafe housing. The key to ending homelessness across generations is to support mothers and families to parent their children. Appropriate, affordable housing is at the forefront of making that happen.”
Women Transforming Cities will be using the 2018 Hot Pink Paper Campaign to hold candidates and their parties accountable for making Vancouver a women-friendly city and welcomes both the media and public to join them for the official launch taking place at the North side of City Hall at 10:30 am. The 11 recommendations and backgrounders will be online at womentransformingcities.org.
***
Women Transforming Cities (WTC) is a not-for-profit organization that works to transform cities by taking action with a gender intersectional lens on issues such as affordable housing, violence against women, youth, electoral reform, aboriginal women’s priorities, and the environment.
