A group of girls from two London elementary schools are calling on Queen's Park to end service wait lists for victims of violence.
The London West Girls’ Government, a group of Grade 7 and 8 girls from St. Jude Catholic Elementary School and Woodland Heights Public School, spoke at Queen’s Park on Wednesday and met with a number of MPPs to lobby for changes on the issue, as well as increased access to victim service.
“We are asking the government to improve access to services such as peer support programs, and to eliminate wait lists,” said students Sara and Zoe during the press conference. “
Over the past five months, London West MPP Peggy Sattler has been holding meetings with the girls group, with the goal engaging the students to advocate for policy change on an issue important to them. Gaps in available community support and the underfunding of existing programs were areas of concern for the group, as well as the challenges surrounding promoting current services for victims of violence.
“Over the past five months we came to see the missing pieces in the services that victims receive," said Larissa, another student in the group.
During the meetings with Sattler, the girls conducted debates, listened to guest speakers, created a petition and wrote letters to cabinet ministers.
“After debate and careful consideration, the girls decided that they wanted to focus on the issue of supports for victims of violence,” said Sattler in a news release. “Once they heard from some of our speakers, they became more aware of the many barriers to accessing support services that victims, particularly children, encounter after experiencing violence.”
Following the media event at Queen's Park, Sattler officially presented an online petition in the Ontario Legislature, which demands better support for survivors of violence. The petition can be viewed here.