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

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

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 that existed from 1971 to 2007. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations m ...

, 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 is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Halifax,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, that city's existing group for women with disabilities, the

Consulting Committee on the Status of Women with Disabilities A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

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 Organizations established in 1985 {{charity-stub