The Grassroots has spoken. 

In February 2020, Aura Freedom submitted an official Beijing +25 Canadian Parallel Report with a focus on gender-based violence entitled ‘Relentless Resilience’.

Relentless Resilience is a report that calls for holistic change to address the root causes of gender-based violence (gender inequity, systemic racism, colonialism, ableism, trans/homophobia, capitalism, etc.) and societal power imbalances that uphold the status quo. Our guiding framework is rooted in human rights activism, grassroots excellence, trauma and, of course, resilience. Relentless Resilience aims to highlight the most marginalized women and girls in Canada and the resiliency of them in response to violence, oppression, and indifference. 

Through interviews with frontline social workers and survivor stories from grassroots organizations in the City of Toronto, Canada, our Beijing +25 Parallel Report demonstrates how gender-based violence is impacting all 12 Areas of Critical Concern of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and hindering the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Relentless Resilience can be considered a point of reference for advocacy efforts that call for the eradication of gender-based violence throughout the entire year of Beijing +25, including CSW64 and the Generation Equality Forum taking place in Mexico and France in 2020, and beyond.

Aura Freedom was accepted to present Relentless Resilience at the NGO Forum of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2020. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, this event was cancelled, but with support from various donors, Relentless Resilience went on to become a powerful multi-media campaign and movement to end gender-based violence in Canada.