Membership

A New Era of Action...

Who we are

DAWN Canada: DisAbled Women’s Network Canada, is a national organization controlled by and comprised of women with disabilities. We are from all backgrounds and all disabilities. We are disabled and non-disabled. We are a feminist organization and a member of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC). We are also an affiliate member of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).

We are working to achieve control over our own lives and end the stereotype that labels us dependent burdens on society.

Why we are here

DAWN Canada was founded in 1985, following a meeting between seventeen women from across Canada who came together to discuss issues of mutual concern. In a society, which devalues and often punishes difference of any kind, women with disabilities face many barriers. If we are aboriginal women, or lesbians, or older women, or women of colour, we encounter even more discrimination and more barriers.

Many of us are poor. If we aren’t able to work or can’t find a job, we must rely on below-poverty level income assistance. If we do work, it’s usually at low-paying jobs with few or no benefits. There are few skills training and upgrading programs available to us. Often, it doesn’t matter what skills and experience we offer; we’re still considered incapable.

Many of us live in isolation. Very often, a caregiver is out only contact with an outside world still largely inaccessible to us. Our lives often lack close friendships and sexual relationships. Sometimes people are afraid of our disabilities and don’t want to get too close; too often, people think we’re “asexual.”

Many of us struggle with self-image. We have been made to feel inadequate and worthless because of our disabilities.

Many of us are told we’re “unsuitable mother material.” If we want to have children, we have to fight for that right. If we are mothers we’re often told we’re not very good at it. Services and supports are few and far between. Frequently, we can’t find a decent place to live because landlords discriminate against our children and us.

Many of us are victims of violence-often by our caregivers. When we lay charges against our attackers, we’re often not believed. Sometimes we’re told we should feel “lucky” someone paid attention to us sexually.

Join us

DAWN Canada is making a difference in the lives of women and girls with disabilities. As a member of DAWN, you become part of an organization that believes we are the experts when it comes to social, political and economic changes necessary to better our lives. You become a member of an organization that believes our issues are different from those of men with disabilities. You become a member of an organization that believes we have a right to self-determination, self-identification, and to control and direct our own lives.

And you become a member of an organization that needs and welcomes your support, ideas & enthusiasm. Together, we will keep making a difference.