Executive Council
May 15, 2014

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Joan Shea, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women:

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this Honourable House to recognize Saturday, May 17, as International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The theme of this year’s campaign is Same-sex parenting: I love my two moms, I love my two dads, and aims to reduce prejudice towards children who grow up in same-sex parented families.

Mr. Speaker, this day aims to raise awareness of homophobia and transphobia, to campaign against it, and to celebrate gender and sexual diversity.

Celebrating the full diversity of our province and continuing to educate is the first step to preventing violence against all vulnerable populations, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, or LGBT individuals.

Every day Mr. Speaker, LGBT individuals are subjected to acts of violence in schools, workplaces and communities and experience higher rates of violent victimization than heterosexual individuals.

Mr. Speaker, our Violence Prevention Initiative aims to educate and increase awareness about the prevention of violence against women, children and youth, Aboriginal women and children, older persons, persons with disabilities, LGBT individuals, persons of varying race or ethnicity, and persons of differing economic status.

a part of the Violence Prevention Initiative, our Regional Coordinating Committees have many events planned throughout the province to educate and celebrate International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. For example, the Southwestern Coalition to End Violence arranged a proclamation signing yesterday in Stephenville. Violence Prevention Labrador has arranged for an individual with same-sex parents to do an interview tomorrow morning with CBC Radio’s Labrador Morning Show, and the Western Regional Coalition to End Violence has created stickers promoting facts about same-sex parenting which will be placed on coffee cups provided by Brewed Awakening in Corner Brook.

Mr. Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and acknowledge the hard work that our Regional Coordinating Committees do on a daily basis. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador remains fully committed to preventing violence against all populations so that residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can live in violence-free communities.

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2014 05 15                        2:50 p.m.