Healing Gaia

December 6 is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

This should be the day Canadians remind politicians at every level of government that in order to eradicate gendered violence, we need true equality for all women and girls.

By Doreen Nicoll
Published December 04, 2017

On December 6, 1989 a lone gunman entered a classroom of 60 engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique. He ordered the men to leave the room. The murderer was then heard to scream, "I hate feminists" before opening fire and killing 14 innocent women: Anne St-Arneault, 23. Geneviève Bergeron, 21m, Hélène Colgan, 23, Nathalie Croteau, 23, Barbara Daigneault, 22, Anne-Marie Edward, 21, Maud Haviernick, 29, Barbara Klueznick, 31, Maryse Laganière, 25, Maryse Leclair, 23, Anne-Marie Lemay, 22, Sonia Pelletier, 23, Michèle Richard, 21, and Annie Turcotte, 21 - simply because they were female.

December 6, 2017 marks the 28th anniversary of the mass femicide at Ecole Polytechnique. Vigils will be held across Canada to commemorate the horrendous act that made it far too clear to all women that if you are female there are no safe spaces.

In Canada, it's well-documented that:

All of these numbers increase significantly for women experiencing multiple oppressions including identifying as being a woman of colour, an immigrant, Indigenous, or having disAbilities.

Life circumstances that make it impossible for women to leave include no room at the women's shelter, no job or reliable income, a lack of affordable housing and child care, and death threats that can extend to children and pets.

In recent weeks, women of every age and background have been speaking up about the abuses they endure at work in order to keep their jobs or advance their careers. While these revelations may be shocking to some men, it's the legacy women have had to endure since time immemorial.

Canadians need to face up to the fact that gendered violence and femicides have reached epidemic proportions.

December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. As Canadians we do a remarkable job when it comes to mourning and remembrance, but we are not as forthcoming with action.

This should be the day Canadians remind politicians at every level of government that in order to eradicate gendered violence, we need true equality for all women and girls. Until that day is realized, Canadians need to make sure supports are in place to help women and children living with, leaving, and healing from gendered violence and femicide.

To that end, I'm asking each and every person who reads this article to contact their local Women's Centre and volunteer your services if you are a family lawyer, accountant, job coach, counsellor or mediator.

Don't have a skill or the time to volunteer? Then, pull out your cheque book and make a generous financial gift in the name of your favourite mother, sister, cousin, aunt, grandmother, step-mother, wife, co-worker, daughter, niece, or female teacher.

Heck, why not have your entire hockey team, school, office, choir, or church group take up a collection to donate to this worthy cause?

Women's Centres rely almost exclusively on community donations to keep their doors open and to provide much needed support for women in crisis. It may be as simple as being able to have a cup of tea once a week with like minded women who have gone through the trauma that you are now experiencing.

But without the funds to keep those doors open and without experienced staff to refer women to services that will help them move on to a safer place, women and their children will fall through the cracks.

For those of you living in Halton Region, The Women's Centre of Halton does fantastic work and Martha Barragan, Executive Director, works tirelessly to ensure women have a safe place to gather and access to essential services that they need.

In Hamilton, let's give a shout out to The Native Women's Centre and its Executive Director Cindilee Ecker-Flagg. This centre accomplishes miracles with virtually no money including running Honouring the Circle, a transitional housing and support program that is essential in these times of rising housing costs.

This National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada be that person who makes a real difference and give generously to your local Women's Centre. You may just save a life.

Doreen Nicoll is a feminist and a member of several community organizations working diligently to end poverty, hunger and gendered violence.

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