December 6th marks the National Day of Remembrance And Action on Violence Against Women. It has been over 30 years since the Montreal Massacre that claimed the lives of 14 young women.
On December 6, 1989, an armed man entered the school. He separated the men from the women and then he told the men to leave. “Do you know why you are there?” he asked the women. They did not. “I am fighting feminism,” he said. Then he began to shoot. 14 women lost their lives that day, 14 promising young women had their futures cut violently short.
On December 6, we remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
As we come together to commemorate this national tragedy, we also reflect on the troubling fact that for women, girls and LGBTQ2 individuals across our country violence continues to be a daily reality. 30+ years after the Montreal Massacre once a week a woman is murdered by her partner and 1 in 3 women will experience some form of sexual violence over the course of their lives.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is about remembering those who have experienced gender-based violence and those who we have lost to it. It is also a time to take action. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused spikes in gender-based violence here in Canada and around the world. Gender-based violence is neither exclusively a women’s issue, nor a men’s issue, but it is a society wide issue.
• Join the conversation on social media #16Days
• Attend a virtual vigil
• Be an ally:
-Listen
-Believe
-Educate yourself and others
-Speak out
