About DAWN Canada

On behalf of the Board of Directors, members and staff we would like to congratulate you on the re-launch of AFHM's newsletter! We wish you every success in this initiative!

logo of DAWN Canada

DAWN Canada: DisAbled Women's Network Canada, is a national organization controlled by and comprised of women with disabilities. We are from all backgrounds and all disabilities. We are disabled and non-disabled. We are a feminist organization and a member of a number of equality seeking women's coalitions as well as an affiliate member of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD). We are working to achieve control over our own lives and end the stereotype that labels us dependent burdens on society.

DAWN Canada's mission is to end the poverty, isolation, discrimination and violence experienced by women with disabilities. We are working to ensure we get the services and support we need, have access to opportunities of non-disabled people take for granted, and have freedom of choice in all aspects of our lives.

To achieve our mission on behalf of women with disabilities, we have set the following goals:

to do outreach to all women with disabilities, including aboriginal women, black women, Asian women, South Asian women, women of colour, immigrant women, lesbians, older women, women in institutions, and single mothers;
to address issues such as poverty, employment equity, violence, mothering, sexuality, health, isolation, access to services, and New Reproductive Technologies (NRGTs);
to be a resource for and about disabled women and our concerns;
to provide role models for girls with disabilities;
to be a bridge between women with disabilities and the women's movement;
to work together with the women's movement on issues which affect all women and to help the movement become accessible to women with disabilities;
to work in coalition with those who share our concerns for social justice; and to be the voice of women with disabilities.

Our History

In June 1985, seventeen women with disabilities from across the country met in Ottawa to discuss issues of concern to them and from that initial meeting, DAWN Canada was born. We are a national not-for-profit, cross disability consumer driven organization for women with disabilities which have networks in every province and all territories in the country. From our inception, DAWN Canada has focused on six areas of concern for women with disabilities. They are employment, poverty, self image, sexuality, access to health care and other services, and violence against women with disabilities. DAWN Canada is affiliated with provincial DAWN groups and other women with disabilities groups in Canada and internationally.

Our focus over the past number of years has been in the area of research, defining needs and concerns of women with disabilities and implementing strategies to address these issues. We collected extensive validated information in may areas including employment, health, self image, sexuality, violence, leadership development, parenting, and suicide prevention. Through partnerships with the funding support of Federal government departments, such as The Office of Disability Issues - Human Resource Development Canada, we have produced a wide selection of publications relevant to women with disabilities. A sample of these include:

Expanding Our Horizons: Tech II Project
Connecting Our Realities: Community Based Access to
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
A Dark Corner in Canadian's Human Rights
Portfolio Development Curriculum
DAWNing Opportunities: Transitions to Self Employment
DAWNing: How to Start and Maintain a DAWN Group
The Impact of Block Funding on Women with Disabilities
Finding Directions: Employment & Women with Disabilities
Relief At What Cost? Women with Disabilities and Substance Use/Misuse

Our Current Work

DAWN Canada is currently working on a number of initiatives in partnership with government departments and other non-profit organizations. Specifically we are currently involved in:

Expanding Our Horizons: Through funding received from ODI, we are currently working on bridging the "digital divide" through our work on empowering members of our network, and other women with disabilities from other countries in their technological skills. During this initiative, we will be developing a Technical Tools CD that will be distributed across the country and available in a variety of formats.

CAEFS Human Rights Consultations: DAWN Canada recently received funding through the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies to complete research on the treatment of women with developmental disabilities and women with mental health problems in our prison system

National Litigation Strategy: Through funding received from The Court Challenges Program of Canada, our organization is planning a consultation to strategize on our future litigation approaches and to take a look at the priorities of our Equality Rights Committee for the next fiscal year. These consultations will be taking place in March/April 2003.

A sample of recent consultations/initiatives, members of our network are involved in:

HIV/AIDS and Disability Consultations - AIDS Legal Network: Montreal
Womenspace - Technology and Equality Seeking Women's Groups - E-book
NAWL - Child Custody and Access - Ottawa
Cross-Sectoral Working Group on Violence Against Women - Toronto
CWHN - International Women and Health Conference - Toronto
Parliamentary Standing Committee - Assisted Human Reproduction -
Women In Public Policy Initiative - National Advisory Committee - Vancouver
Womenspace - Digitalizing a History of the Women's Movement - Herstory Coalition
Council of Canadians with Disabilities - Annual Meeting - Winnipeg
Pay Equity Task Force - Ottawa
CAEFS Consultations - Ottawa
REACH - Accessibility and Transition Houses - Ottawa
KDAWU - Mothering & Women with Disabilities - Seoul, S.Korea
Womenspace - Social Policy Development using ICT - Ottawa

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