Fight violence against women on campus

It is the first day of classes, and there have already been threats of extreme violence targeting women and feminists at U of T. We need a clear and strong community response that challenges today’s persistent misogyny.

Feminist thought is critical to understanding how inequality perpetuates itself. It is also central in the creation of different types of relationships, ones rooted in equity and an approach to justice that recognizes how race, class, gender, ability and religion can intersect to create complex forms of discrimination.

Violence that seeks to silence feminist voices cannot and will not succeed in its goals. Though some of us may choose to cancel classes to ensure the safety of our students and colleagues, these ideas will continue to be taught, debated and theorized by some of the greatest minds at U of T. Each December we commemorate the 1989 massacre of women students at L’École Polytechnique. But we should not wait for tragedies and mass violence to stand up as a community and combat gendered violence. We must stand up for women and feminists of all genders. Let us show that Toronto is a feminist town; that women must be able to go to class without fearing for their lives; that feminist ideas of equity are essential to building a just society.

We must reclaim U of T as a space where people of all genders are encouraged to learn, where all community members are safe, and where women’s ideas are valued and cultivated. Joe Curnow, CUPE 3902, Educational Workers Women’s Caucus, Toronto