Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) has partnered with the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), Status of Women Canada, Burns Lake Municipality, and the Ministry of Justice to host the Burns Lake Sexual Violence and Healing Forum on October 12 and 13th at the Burns Lake Gathering Place.
The event was organized to include leaders from First Nation communities within the Burns Lake area, various government ministries, School District leadership, key community members, and service providers to develop a Burns Lake Action Plan to End Sexual Violence against Women and Girls.
The Action Plan will consist of clear objectives, identify resources, and include an evaluation tool to ensure deliverables are met. The development of the Action Plan will be the first of its kind in BC, as it includes First Nation communities as well as the municipality.
Mary Ellen Turpell-Lafond will be a keynote speaker and will provide an overview of her most recent report, Too Many Victims: Sexualized Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth in Care.
Preston Guno, a long-time advocate for children and youth rights, will be chairing the event. Angela Sterritt, former Director of Justice for Girls and current CBC Correspondent, will also be speaking at the event.
Mary Teegee, the Executive Director of Child and Family Services at CSFS, states, “The issue of sexual violence is complex and difficult to address, using our collective voices, we hope to secure strong government, community and individual commitments towards providing services to deal with this issue.”
Contact Person:
Mary Teegee
Phone: 250-612-8710
Email: Mary@csfs.org
or
Joan Conlon
Phone: 250-692-0651
Email: JConlon@csfs.org