If you have a voice, use it; if you have others do it together
Advocacy by IIWR-MB
Action by IIWR-MB begins with the Advocacy Committee. Their efforts focus on the participation in targeted letter writing, petitions, sign-on letters, and providing commentary on potential pieces of legislation respecting women’s rights. The Advocacy Committee reviews each initiative, facilitating discussion amongst its members, before advising the IIWR-MB Board as to whether or not it would recommend signing on as a supporter, creating our own language around the issue, or hosting our own discussion of the topic in the form of a conversation café or other event which draws the community together.
The Committee also initiates actions after conducted research independently or in partnership with other concerned organizations resulting in petitions and letters of support, approaches to government, media connections and other effective tools to create public awareness and appeal for change.
To get in touch with the co chairs of the Advocacy Committee, send an email.
Current Initiatives
To learn more about current advocacy efforts visit our NEWS page, contact us by email, or follow us on social media.
IIWR-MB is a member of:
Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba and through them participates in the National Council of Women of Canada. These organizations are involved in advocacy, particularly with government.
PEG (Public Engagement Group) of Manitoba Council for International Cooperation
Manitoba Moon Voices, as a community ally
Manitoba Coalition on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
IIWR-MB is the only organization with Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations so is able to attend the annual Commission on the Status of Women in New York and present a panel there. read more …
IIWR-MB was a member of The Steering Committee for the Winnipeg Safe Cities Initiative of UN Women as the initiative was being introduced in Winnipeg.
Recent Initiatives
- Signed on to Our Feminism is Trans Inclusive statement and calls to action co-created by the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, Wisdom2Action and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
- Participated in the Rally for Reproductive Justice.
- Signed on to the Sexual Rights Initiative Joint Civil Society Statement on Abortion
- Signed onto the Feminist Support Banning Conversion Therapy submission to the Senate of Canada.
- Signed on to the Affirmation of Feminist Principles.
- Sent letters to the federal government and signed petitions in solidarity with Polonia Inclusive to advocate for the Government of Canada to take urgent action to advance and protect the human rights of women, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals and minoritized ethnic persons living in Poland.
- Wrote letters and signed on to support the Chinese and SouthEast Asian Legal Clinic Campaign to extend Canada Child Benefits to All Children Living in Canada.
- Endorsed the Choosing Real Safety: A Historic Declaration to Divest from Policing and Prisons and build safer communities for all.
- Signed on to the Civil Society Recommendations for the Functioning of the Action Coalitions.
- Became a signatory to the kNOw Poverty Campaign by Make Poverty History Manitoba.
- Participated in a roundtable with Minister Marc Garneau on the Feminist Foreign Policy and sent a submission to the Feminist Foreign Policy Working Group.
- Sent a letter regarding the division of labour between the Minister for Health and the Minister for the Status of Women, specifically regarding reproductive rights.
- Hosted Reproductive Health in Manitoba: Integrity, Access & Inclusivity for International Women’s Day 2021.
- Signed the Open Letter: Vaccines for All from the Migrant Rights Network
- Participated in the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico and Paris (virtually).
Visit the Annual Report page to view IIWR-MB Annual Reports, to view previous years’ advocacy initiatives.
Copies of correspondence, petitions and reports on some activities are available through the Advocacy Co-Chairs.