In the Blog
Free Movie Monday
Toronto readers, this looks amazing. And it’s free.
A groundbreaking training model for integrating the justice system, developed in British Columbia, is now being used in South Africa and Ethiopia to train police, prosecutors and judges to work together to combat the rampant domestic violence in these countries.
The African project leaders, Mahdere Paulos (ex high-court judge and Executive Director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyer’s Association) and Tsidi Kambula (Prosecutor for the South African National Prosecuting Authority), will participate in a Canada-wide tour launching in Vancouver on May 28. These courageous women will share the challenges and lessons learned with policy makers, legal professionals, victim support workers, and the general public in four Canadian cities.
“Being safe in your own home is a basic human right,” says Evelyn Neaman, International and Special Projects Manager for LCES. “This tour is an invaluable opportunity for Canadians and Africans to share experiences and raise awareness about this terrible epidemic. There is so much we can learn from this project about how to better integrate our own justice system.”
The national tour includes a public screening of the documentary IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, in Toronto on June 2 at 6:30 pm, depicting the desperate plight of women and girls in South Africa and Ethiopia, and the fearless efforts of these African women to change the system.
You can see the trailer here.
The project, which has been recognized internationally by organizations like UNICEF, is described by Kambula as “A product of an excellent combination of both the Canadian and our own South African expertise in the various areas of domestic violence.”
The Toronto screening of IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE has been organized by the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating a civil society through education and dialogue. The screening is co-sponsored by Law Courts Education Society of B.C., the Ethiopian Association in the GTA and Surrounding Regions, Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), and the Ethiopian Women’s Association.
TORONTO PUBLIC SCREENING AND FORUM A Documentary Screening of IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Followed by a discussion panel featuring special guests Mahdere Paulos, Executive Director Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association & Tsidi Kambula, Prosecutor, South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)
Monday, June 2, 6:30 pm Innis Town Hall University of Toronto’s Downtown campus 2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Admission Free; Seating Limited ASL interpretation, attendant care, digitized note-taking may be provided if requested by Wed May 28.
For a complete list of events in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and Ottawa, go to www.itstimeafrica.org.
