Bonnie Brayton has been the National Executive Director of the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN) since 2007 when she established a national head office in Montreal. This national, cross-disability feminist organization has focused on advancing the rights of women with disabilities and deaf women in Canada and Internationally for the past 30 years. In this piece, Bonnie shares her thoughts on the intersections of Disability, violence against women, and community-campus engagement.

Tell me about what Dawn Canada does and your involvement with them.

DAWN Canada is a feminist disability organization founded in 1985, so we’ve been around for 33 years. We’re, as far as I know, one of the first national women with disability organizations.

In 2007, I became DAWN’s first national executive director…So that’s when we really established a national head office inside this feminist collective in Quebec as a very important gesture towards really trying to become the most inclusive women’s organization we could be… The decision to make the head office in Quebec was a really good one, because it’s actually made us probably one of the most bilingual national women’s organizations in the country…

We’ve actually been located really strongly as one of the national women’s organizations that the current government really is working with in a very meaningful way. It’s taken a while but like I said, it’s begun to bear fruit. For example, I sit on Minister Monsef’s advising council on violence and I’ve been on that council for three years. And I can see the results of being at the table…

So what are the connections between disability and violence against women?

So, I’ll start with something that I’ve been saying for years which is that women become disabled through violence. And really pause to think about what I’m saying, right? “Women become disabled through violence,” and what the implications of that are.

Because the policy implications are huge, so people don’t want to hear that. They don’t want to hear that women become disabled through violence, but that’s the truth! If you look at even trafficking, every person who’s trafficked, ever, whether they start with a disability or not, will end with a disability. You know, I have a briefing note I can send you on human trafficking and disability and we’re the only people in the country, and almost the only people in the world talking about this issue…

Did you see the new disability data survey results from 2017? 24% of women in Canada have a disability. One quarter. Because we’re doing better data collection, we’re asking the right questions. One quarter. And you and I both know there’s a stigma attached to disability. Many women are still not disclosing to a statistical survey if they have a disability. They’re not saying “yes” to that question. But the newest data has it at 24% so one quarter of women in this country said “yes” this time when they were asked.

So, the World Health Organization, Kristina, okay? The largest minority group in the world today are people with disabilities at a billion. And the majority of those are women. In Canada, the new data shows there’s a five-point difference between men and women.

So, what that tells you is that disability is a gendered issue. It is absolutely a gendered issue.

What is DAWN doing to help women with disabilities escape violence?

It’s pretty clear to DAWN, deep into the research now, that some women are harder to accommodate [by shelters] than others because they’re not identified as having a disability. The question of access for women with physical disabilities to shelters is a frustrating one, and a really simple one to fix because all you have to do is look at labour.

And you know it is not necessarily disabilities that might be her first barrier. It might be that she is an immigrant, or a refugee, or she’s indigenous. These kinds of things, like I said, you know, need to be taken in terms of the big picture. And the big picture one is: you start from the most marginalized women and then you work your way in, and then you don’t leave anyone out.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say, Kristina, is that [accommodating] physical disabilities needs to be thought through as something that can be done and is very fixable. The other big piece though, we need to move beyond [the fact that] women with physical disabilities are not being served and are being victimized at higher rates. We need this whole cohort of women who are actually becoming disabled, become part of this larger problem we have: which is this whole displacement of women who experience violence. Where do they end up after they leave the shelter or transition house? I’m telling you: some of them end up in human trafficking, some of them end up in the homeless population, and some of them end up in prison.

Varvara Olson and Maren Mentor, International Visitor Liaisons with members of the Canadian delegation of Healing the Wounds of Trafficking: A Project for Canada hosted by the U.S. State Department – Anthony Morissette, Peter Moriera, Bonnie Brayton and Larissa Maxwell. (Missing: Isabelle Nelis) Š Bonnie Brayton

What do you think needs to be done to create change for women with disabilities?

It’s going to change in time, you know? This data, the 24% of women with disabilities in Canada is the biggest statistic I’ve ever had, Kristina, and this just came out two weeks ago. That’s going to have a huge impact on policy…

This requires people, politicians, policy makers to take up what is now irrefutable data. Which is that you have this very important population that has the highest rates of poverty, the highest rates of unemployment, the rightest rates of violence, and we’ve left them in this policy vacuum…

Some of what DAWN really is very focused on, is the intersectional approach because it’s through this intersectional approach that you begin to get everybody to understand it’s not an “us and them” thing… Amongst all women in Canada, the one thing that all of them could have in common… the one thing in common that all women can share is disability.

I will say this, and this is an important point to make … 47% of all violent victimization, (so violent victimization is physical assault, sexual assault, and robbery), 47% of all violent victimization in Canada was against a woman with a disability. So nearly half. That’s the best data we have.

And I just told you 24% of women in this country live with a disability… [A] shift has started to take place though, and that’s why the new buzzword everywhere is intersectionality. And it’s moving beyond buzz, to people being like: “this is not a buzzword, this is the only way we’re going to fix this stuff”.

I’m curious as to the CCE approach that DAWN has taken. Because I know that you have worked with a lot of community-based researchers and academic partners. What have those experiences been like and how has the CCE approach helped when looking at violence against women?

Well, I think I told you before, the community and community research is what should inform campus research, to be really clear. You cannot do good academic research unless you connect it to people who have lived experience…

[Community-campus partnerships] that have worked for DAWN have been ones that have respected our expertise…You’re not going to get me to trust you if you think that you’re bigger and more important than I am, and that’s because I know that I represent the most underserved population. I am very clear on the fact that I am the one that holds the power, because I represent this community that you don’t serve… Humble yourselves, humble yourselves and figure out how you support that. And that is exactly how you do this right…

What advice you would have for other community-campus partnerships that want to include that disability lens in their work?

Well the first advice, is you’d bloody well include a disability lens, because if you don’t, you’re not credible.

If you want to be helpful the first thing to do is align yourself with organizations that are working from that place, so disability organizations, organizations that talk about social justice, or socio-economic justice…So, the first thing you might need to do is say “well, we can call and work with you, but the first thing we need to do is get the table set up, so let’s set the table.” …so set the table, and then bring people to the table. And pay them to come to the table…And like I said: there is no not including. That’s the most important thing…

Further to this, how we can keep those lived experiences at the forefront?

And how do you do that? … Like think about it: imagine how powerful it is for women with disabilities who have had the lived experience of violence to have somebody in front of them whose biggest concern is about getting it right, and reflecting what it is you want us to tell, what needs to change. And you know, it’s very much about trust and the ability to empower somebody by saying: “this is for you.”

Kristina: There needs to be a concerted effort to distinguish between, like you were saying, equity before equality…

Bonnie: And like I said Kristina, if you’re doing research that you can’t give back to the people that it’s about, then you’re not doing good research. If it doesn’t provide women with disabilities with something, then you don’t get it right. I guess I’d say, follow Samuel Beckett’s advice: [“Ever tried, ever failed. No matter. Fail again. Fail better.”]

If you get it wrong, then you just go back to the people who can get it right, and the people who can get it right are the people you’re doing this for. You know? You’re not doing it for yourself and your academic career, you’re doing it because it’s important. And stay grounded in that.

To learn more about DAWN Canada, visit their website .

• Ending Generational Poverty through CCE – Cathy Wright
  • How benefitted from CFICE support in developing a city-wide collective impact initiative
• Building a national food movement – Diana Bronson
  • How (FSC) worked in partnership with CFICE to advocate for a National Food Policy
• Advancing Rights for Women with Disabilities – Bonnie Brayton
  • How the (DAWN) worked with CFICE to build tools for critical policy work in Canada
• On a Journey of Reconciliation – Colleen Christopherson-Cote
  • How the prioritizes reconciliation and decolonization in its community work

Video Link

If you missed out on the day-of presentation, not to worry. We’ve made it accessible below.

Presenters

For the past thirteen years, Cathy Wright has been a key catalyst in the poverty reduction efforts in Saint John, New Brunswick.  Prior to moving into semi-retirement, she served as executive director of Living SJ, a dynamic network of leaders from business, government, non-profits and low income neighbourhoods, focused on ending generational poverty.  She supported the development and implementation of this growing network as it applied a collective impact approach to four game changing priorities – education, health, employment and neighbourhoods –  impacting the lives of individuals and families living in poverty. As both a professional and a volunteer, Cathy has contributed to changing social issues at the local, provincial and national levels.  Her work, primarily in the non-profit sector in poverty reduction, social planning, and adult literacy, is guided by the necessity of diverse partners working and learning together. Cathy is a recipient of the 2017 Vibrant Communities Canada Legacy Award and the Canada Volunteer Award.

Diana Bronson joined Food Secure Canada as Executive Director in March 2012 and has worked to strengthen FSC as the national voice of the Canadian food movement.  Diana is trained as a political scientist and sociologist and has a professional background in journalism (CBC radio) and international human rights (Rights & Democracy) as well as international climate and technology negotiations at the UN (ETC Group). Diana’s research, policy and advocacy work has centered on supporting social movements around the world, critically reviewing and educating around international trade and investment agreements, looking at the impacts of Canadian mining companies, and assessing the social and environmental impacts of emerging technologies. She has participated in many international negotiations on human rights, climate change, biodiversity, technology and sustainable development over the past two decades. She also worked in a senior position on Parliament Hill from 2006-2008. She lives and works in Montreal.

Bonnie Brayton has been the National Executive Director of the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN) since 2007 when she established a national head office in Montreal. This national, cross-disability feminist organization has focused on advancing the rights of women with disabilities and deaf women in Canada and Internationally for the past 30 years. Through DAWN, Bonnie helps highlight key issues and advocate for policy changes for women with disabilities in the employment sector to the justice sector, and everything in between. In 2014, as part of Canada’s 150th year Celebration of the Charlottetown Conference Ms. Brayton was named a Visionary, one of 23 Women in Canada, and in January 2015 was named one of Canada’s 40 Women Change Makers by Canadian Living Magazine. In 2016, she was appointed for a two-year term as a member of the Federal Status of Women Minister’s Advisory Council on Gender-Based Violence. Bonnie is also the President of Coup de Balai – Clean Sweepers, an innovative social economy organization providing home care services to people with disabilities and seniors in her Montreal community. Bonnie has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Feminist Alliance for International Action and was a member of the Steering Committee of La Maison Parent-Roback, a Quebec feminist collective in Montreal from 2008-15. Ms. Brayton lives in Montreal with her partner Delmar Medford. She has two adult daughters, Leah and Virginia.

Colleen Christopherson-Cote is the coordinator for the Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership and the community co-lead for the Evaluation and Analysis working group of CFICE. She lives and works within Saskatoon, Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of the MÊtis. The interconnect between all three partnerships provides her with the opportunity to catalyze, convene and coordinate community-based work to drive change and build capacity around improving the lives of vulnerable people in Saskatoon. Fostering new and existing community-campus relationships is a core priority of her work, understanding that engaging community throughout research processes is integral to successfully reducing poverty. Colleen is committed to the implementation of UNDRIP and the TRC Calls to Action in both her professional and personal life, recognizing that reconciliation is essential for an equitable, just society.

Moderator: David Peacock is the Executive Director of Community Service-Learning in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta, Canada. His research encompasses global service-learning, student equity policy and practices in higher education, curriculum theory, community-university engagement and ‘first generation’ university students’ participation in experiential learning programming. David is active in developing Canadian networks for community-engaged learning and research.

Bonnie Brayton, Executive Director of DAWN Canada

On June 16th I attended the Ottawa based forum for Robust Safeguards in Bill C-14, with a specific focus on “medical assistance in dying” and Canadians with disabilities. The ‘s (DAWN’s) Executive Director, Bonnie Brayton, was among a number of presenters including self-advocates, advocates, parents and disability-focused organizations who presented their perspectives and concerns regarding Bill C-14 and the potential impact it might have on Canadians with disabilities.

More specifically, Brayton brought forth concerns about particular vulnerabilities that women and girls with disabilities experience, which may put them at even more risk beyond the individual and systemic violence that many experience daily. “We know that women with disabilities continue to be vulnerable because of societal attitudes and norms which view us as inferior and devalue our lives,” read Brayton.

Subsequently, DAWN and the other disability-focused groups encouraged Parliamentarians, Senators and all Canadians to review the prepared Brief with recommendations including their joint support for a framework of monitoring and implementation.

For more information and for the transcript of Brayton’s speaking notes, .

Bonnie Brayton, Executive Director of DAWN Canada

While scrolling through my Twitter feed this International Women’s Day, I excitedly devoured the many articles about women and girls in various national and international contexts. Since I am deeply interested in the issues facing women, and especially women with disabilities, I was thrilled to come across the article titled “” on Huffington Post Canada. The article was written by our Violence Against Women (VAW) hub community partner Bonnie Brayton, National Executive Director at (DAWN). One of the most shocking revelations in Brayton’s article is that, “Women with disabilities experience violence at higher rates than non-disabled women — up to four times higher“, which should be of pressing concern to our leaders.

Brayton continues to say that although understanding, support and leadership for women with disabilities is still scarce, Saskatchewan has adopted a theme of Resilience: The Strength of Women Living with Disabilities, and will be recognizing women and girls who are role models in their communities. This recognition is something that Brayton feels many women with disabilities across Canada and the globe currently do not get.

To read Brayton’s powerful piece, .