Women were turned away from homeless shelters 100,000 times in the past year because of a lack of space.

The Federation of Shelters for Women, which represents one-third of the 109 shelters in the province, said the real figure could be triple their statistic.

The Federation reported the high number of women turned away from shelters during a meeting of Men for the Elimination of Violence against Women -- an event where several dozen men gathered to discuss the issue.

The participants at the meeting included Ghislain Picard, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, who also wanted to discuss the rate of violence against aboriginal women.

Participants stressed the importance for men to take responsibility in the matter, to take part in the debate, to better educate boys and to talk with colleagues and friends.

Several noted setbacks in terms of sexualization in media and advertising, and discussed the apparent normalization of violence in society in general.

Manon Monastesse, executive director of the Federation of Shelters, said she was comforted by hearing men discussing violence against women.

Quebecers launched a two-week campaign to denounce violence against women earlier this week, and it will end on Dec. 6, 2015, the anniversary of the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique shooting.