Today, December 6, is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Below is a letter from the Quinte Labour Council.
Today we mark a somber anniversary.
On December 6, 1989, a male gunman targeted and shot several women at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal.
Foourteen women died, and 10 others were injured—targeted because they were women.
And 35 years later, the crisis of gender-based violence persists.
On average, one woman or girl is killed every 48 hours in Canada.
Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals face the highest rates of femicide.
They make up 16 per cent of all femicide victims and 11 per cent of all missing women.
They are also six times more likely to go missing or be murdered than non-Indigenous women and girls.
Three in five trans women and girls have experienced intimate-partner violence.
We remember all the women, girls and gender-diverse people we have lost and who have been injured due to gender-based violence.
We remember that gender-based violence touches all women and girls in some way, that sexism and misogyny in our society fuel this violence, and that all women, girls and gender-diverse people are at risk.
We think of the children, families, coworkers, and communities experiencing the trauma of this violence, and the losses of their loved ones.
We also remember that other forms of violence and oppression, like colonialism, white supremacy, anti-transgender policies, and beliefs, overlap with misogyny and place Indigenous, racialized, and trans women at a heightened risk of violence.
We honour their memory and all the lives lost and affected by Intimiate partner violence in our area by demanding an end to this crisis.
We declare in one united voice, “Never again!”
