On Thursday, Nov. 24, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., 16 men will spend the night outside to raise awareness of the effects of gender-based violence on women and girls in the community of Moose Jaw, throughout Canada, and around the world.
Each of the men will attempt to raise at least $500 for the benefit of the Moose Jaw Transition House. Transition House is a charitable organization that provides emergency shelter for women and children fleeing violence. It provides them with a safe, warm, compassionate shelter.
Last year was the first time for this fundraiser, and an article was written about the event and appeared in MooseJawToday.com. At that time, I mentioned to the organizers that I thought it was a great idea and that I would be willing to sleep outside for a night, too, because it’s a cause I fiercely believe in.
Well, here goes. I am honoured to be participating this time around.
Nov. 25 is the beginning of the Global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. It begins with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on Dec. 10 with Human Rights Day.
While men also suffer abuse across the spectrum — emotional, physical, financial — women and girls are far more likely to be physically attacked, severely injured, or killed by intimate partner violence. That’s worldwide.
Now, it isn’t my fault that I’m a man.
In fact, almost none of the characteristics we end up with as individuals are a matter of choice. I didn’t choose my height, skin colour, sexual orientation, nationality, genetic susceptibilities to certain diseases and disorders, and so on. We didn’t choose these things, but we have to deal with them all the same.
The average man is bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than the average woman. That’s a biological fact, and one of the few differences between biological males and biological females that is consistently demonstrated in controlled, peer-reviewed studies.
Your experience may differ — there’s no benefit to oversimplifications.
Nevertheless, I acknowledge that my aggression is more dangerous than that of the average woman. I believe I have an obligation to learn healthy coping strategies, to actively develop my self-awareness and emotional maturity, and to encourage my male peers to change our cultural view of masculinity.
One of the values of the White Ribbon Campaign is to ‘Work from the Heart.’
“This issue is inherently a personal one,” the White Ribbon Campaign website states. “(It) requires that men specifically acknowledge and challenge their power and privilege in subtle and explicit ways.”
All movements are made up of individuals. This must be personal.
The list includes 16 volunteers, as well as the male members of the Moose Jaw Transition House board:
- Adam Dowling - RBC
- Tim McLeod – MLA Moose Jaw North
- Joel Pinel – Vize Labs
- Brett Williams – Cypress Paving
- Mark Gilliland – Metis Local and ACT Club
- Paul Busse – Moose Jaw Firefighter
- Kyle Sereda – Moose Jaw & District EMS
- Ira Dales – Ifrix Solutions
- John Iatridis – The Mad Greek
- Alex Carleton – Crushed Can
- Shea Jameson - JGL
- Matt Gillies – K+S
- Eric Campbell – Lindale School
- Gordon Edgar – Moose Jaw Express
- Andy Hamilton – Henderson Insurance
- Arden Ausland – Mosaic
- Geoff Anderson – Moose Jaw Co-op (board member)
- Jared Mathieson – Saskatchewan Polytechnic (board member)
- Kevin Pilsworth – Moose Jaw Police Service (board member)
I hope the community of Moose Jaw will support us as we work to raise awareness of the issue of gender-based violence. Last year, this fundraiser contributed over $30,000 to Transition House.
If you’d like to contribute, any amount is welcome. Tax receipts are available for all donations of $20 or more.
Donations can be made online at mj-transitionhouse.com, with cash, or by cheque. The Moose Jaw Express will also be accepting contributions at our office located at 468 High Street. For anyone supporting Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com staff member Gordon Edgar in this fundraiser, Moose Jaw Express will match all donations up to a total of $500.
