"I am encouraged to see the growth and success of Violence Prevention Month and am especially pleased to see the great work being done by the regional coordinating committees," said the Honourable Joan Burke, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women and Minister of Education. "However, we must continue to be mindful that violence prevention needs both government�s and community�s full attention year round in order to eradicate violence in our society."

Violence Prevention Month is a province-wide effort by government and community organizations each February to raise awareness that violence is unacceptable and to call communities to take action against violence.

One notable accomplishment during Violence Prevention Month was the success of a protest led by the St. John�s Regional Coordinating Committee to ban the sale of a t-shirt in the national clothing store chain, Bluenotes that promoted dating violence messages. The protest resulted in the chain replacing the shirts with one that states "NO MEANS NO" and an apology from the company president.

"It is our collective responsibility as consumers to hold companies like Bluenotes accountable for the messages they are selling to youth. This action should demonstrate that we each have power to contribute to violence prevention messages in our society," said Dana English, coordinator of the St. John�s Regional Coordinating Committee.

Regional coordinating committees throughout the province held successful events during the month. The Bay St. George Regional Coordinating Committee held a community challenge, encouraging zero tolerance of violence throughout the community. The Central Committee celebrated their 15-year anniversary, and the Labrador Committee distributed place mats to restaurants throughout Labrador with emergency numbers and anti-violence messages.

Ten regional coordinating committees have been created under government�s VPI. The committees are located throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and work to coordinate violence prevention efforts at the community level.

The VPI is a six year, $7.2 million investment by government to reduce violence in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Initiative brings together eight government departments and over 20 community organizations to work together to create a province free from violence.

"I would like to thank all those who supported Violence Prevention Month, and remind everyone that violence is a problem that is always present and continued efforts are required to combat violence in Newfoundland and Labrador" said Minister Burke.

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Media contact:
Michelle Hynes
Communications and Policy Research Analyst
Women�s Policy Office
709-729-6225, 693-2125
michellehynes@gov.nl.ca

2007 03 02                                                   9:35 a.m.