DAWN Canada/Réseau d'action des femmes handicapées du Canada is a Canadian national

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

network controlled by and composed of people who self-identify as women with disabilities.Doucette, Joanne. ''The DisAbled Women's Network: A Fragile Success'', in ''Women and Social Change: Feminist Activism in Canada'', eds: Wine & Ristock, James Lorimer & co. 1991, , p221 The network also supports local and provincial chapters. DAWN is a member organization of the

National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on ...

, Canada's largest feminist organization.

History

The organization began on June 20–23, 1985, at a meeting of seventeen women from across Canada who came together to discuss issues of interest to women with various disabilities. The main purpose of this initial meeting was to plan a larger national gathering of disabled women who would then develop the organization's strategies and goals. Early groups formed in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Halifax,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, that city's existing group for women with disabilities, the Consulting Committee on the Status of Women with Disabilities also joined the network.

Mission

DAWN Canada's mission is "to end the poverty, isolation, discrimination and violence experienced by women with disabilities, and to fight for women with disabilities to have freedom of choice in all aspects of their lives."DAWN Mission

References

External links

Disability rights organizations Feminism in Quebec Feminist organizations in Canada Intersectional feminism Women's organizations based in Canada Disability organizations based in Canada {{charity-stub