Status of Women

This House of Commons Status of Women committee meeting studied the rise of anti-feminist ideology. Appearing were journalist Rachel Gilmore; Vé Mikaelian, mobilization coordinator for the Fédération des femmes du Québec; Nour Enayeh, president, and Soukaina Boutiyeb, executive director, of the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne; and Dr. Alok Kanojia, trustee and president of the Healthy Gamer Foundation.

Rachel Gilmore described a research paper showing teachers are being bombarded with male supremacist rhetoric from students, including degrading comments and safety concerns, which she likened to an early warning sign of a tsunami. She shared her own experience of online harassment, including death and rape threats, and said this has forced her to change her lifestyle, such as avoiding being out of control in public. She argued that tech platforms and alt-media profit from exploiting insecurity, and that the root issues are societal, not unique to young men.

Vé Mikaelian stated that anti-feminism is a fast-growing extremist ideology, citing research showing a doubling of manosphere messages in 10 years and a 60% increase in hostile messages toward women in incel communities since 2016. She noted that 89 deaths since 2014, including 15 in Canada, are linked to incel ideology, and argued that structural anti-feminism, such as policies limiting religious symbols or Bill C-12, creates a vicious cycle that validates misogynistic narratives. She recommended funding feminist research and prevention, and personally supported criminalizing coercive control, but disagreed with the suggestion that immigrant men are more violent.

Nour Enayeh testified that the Alliance received a threatening package in 2020 containing explicit threats and antifeminist writings, reflecting a convergence of masculinism and francophobia. She said francophone women are doubly or triply marginalized, and recommended supporting youth voices, increasing training, funding research on overlapping discrimination, requiring comprehensive gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) for official language minorities, adopting legislative measures against hate speech, and providing mission-based funding for francophone women’s organizations.

Dr. Alok Kanojia explained that young men typically enter anti-feminist communities through loneliness, shame, and a sense of falling behind, with hopelessness transforming into hatred. He identified five recurring themes: social deprivation, emotional illiteracy, trauma histories, unmet mental health needs, and loss of purpose, and argued that shame or punishment is less effective than building agency, teaching emotional skills, and creating offline community. He recommended investing in preventative mental health supports, promoting digital and emotional literacy curricula, and supporting community-level programs, noting that young men who feel included do not become radicalized.

Soukaina Boutiyeb emphasized that minority francophone women often lack services in French, such as shelters, and that organizations are underfunded, with some relying on a single part-time person. She supported legislative measures to hold both individuals and platforms accountable for antifeminist content, and stressed the need for culturally adapted awareness campaigns to inform women of their rights. She disagreed with the notion that immigrant communities are uniquely responsible for gender-based violence, arguing it is a universal issue.

The committee debated a motion from Anna Roberts to study human trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation, which was noted for future discussion.