For immediate release May 20, 2008
Media contact Yukyung Kim-Cho, Tel: 416-947-5273
E-mail: ykimcho@ojen.ca



Canada Leading the Way in Combating Domestic Violence in Africa African Women Leaders Speak Out in Canadian Tour

TORONTO CANADA - A groundbreaking training model for integrating the justice system, developed in
British Columbia, is now being used in South Africa and Ethiopia to train police, prosecutors and judges to work together to combat the rampant domestic violence in these countries.

The African project leaders, Mahdere Paulos (ex high-court judge and Executive Director of the Ethiopian
Women Lawyer's Association) and Tsidi Kambula (Prosecutor for the South African National Prosecuting
Authority), will participate in a Canada-wide tour launching in Vancouver May 28. These courageous women will share the challenges and lessons learned with policy makers, legal professionals, victim service workers, and the general public in four Canadian cities.

“Being safe in your own home is a basic human right,” states Evelyn Neaman, International and Special
Projects Manager for JES. “This tour is an invaluable opportunity for Canadians and Africans to share
experiences and raise awareness about this terrible epidemic. There is so much we can learn from this
project about how to better integrate our own justice system.”

The national tour includes a public screening of a documentary, IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, in Toronto on June 2 at 6:30 pm, depicting the desperate plight of women and girls in South Africa and Ethiopia, and the fearless efforts of these African women to change the system.

The project, which has been recognized internationally by organizations like UNICEF, is described by
Kambula as, “A product of an excellent combination of both the Canadian and our own South African
expertise in the various areas of domestic violence.”

The Toronto screening of IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE has been organized by the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), a non profit dedicated to cultivating a civil society through education and dialogue. The screening is co-sponsored by Justice Education Society of B.C., the Ethiopian Association in the GTA and Surrounding Regions, METRAC (Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children) and the Ethiopian Women's Association.

TORONTO PUBLIC SCREENING AND FORUM

A Documentary Screening of IT’S TIME: AFRICAN WOMEN JOIN HANDS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Followed by a discussion panel featuring special guests Mahdere Paulos, Executive Director Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association & Tsidi Kambula, Prosecutor, South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)

Monday, June 2, 6:30 pm
Innis Town Hall
University of Toronto's Downtown campus
2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Admission: Free; Seating Limited

ASL interpretation, attendant care, digitized note-taking may be provided if requested by Wed May 28.

For a complete list of events in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and Ottawa, go to www. itstimeafrica.org