Canadians against discrimination of men and boys in government funded programs

On October 3, 2014, Kellie Leitch, Status of Women Minister, announced that $1.1 million has been allocated to fund eight programs dealing with cyberviolence against women and girls. Last month, another $25 million was committed over a five-year period to combat violence against Aboriginal women and girls. No funding has been committed to address cyberviolence against men and boys, who are just as susceptible as being victims as women and girls.

A common trend and norm that seems to be thriving is that only women and girls are victims, while men and boys are not. The office of the Honourable Kellie Leitch acknowledged that women can be just as culpable to violence as men. The fact that eight men to two women commit suicide in Canada each day is another ignored issue facing men and boys.

Stop a Bully, a Canadian registered national charity founded by Trevor Knowlton in 2009, has published bullying statistics that show it is not just females who are bullied, but also males, according to a 2011 Ipsos Reid survey of 416 Canadian teenagers: http://www.stopabully.ca/bullying-statistics.html

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbids gender discrimination. Is the Government of Canada guilty of violating the Charter by not providing equal funding and protection against cyberviolence to males? Canadians should ask themselves, “Why are men and boys not treated equally to women and girls, where gender equality is the expected norm?”