By: Chelsea Perry
In honour of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women will be hosting a vigil, December 6th from 12-1pm at Memorial Hall, Confederation Centre of the Arts.
December 6th will be the 29th anniversary of the Montreal massacre, where 14 women engineering students were gunned down in a brutal act of gendered violence.
On November 25th, Canada commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Gender based violence can happen to anyone, though some girls and women are more susceptible. This includes young girls and older women, women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, migrants and refugees, indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or women and girls living with HIV and disabilities, and those living through humanitarian crises.
Every six days, a Canadian woman is murdered by a current or former partner. Indigenous organizations have estimated that, over the last several decades, over 4000 Indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered.
Violence towards women continues to be an obstacle in achieving equity for the rights of women and girls, and it is necessary that we continue to question, call out, and speak up against acts of gender-based violence. We do it for those who reported. We do it for those who suffer silently. We do it for those who fear retaliation. We do it for those who reported, and had their case dropped as unfounded. We do it for those who don’t know if what they experienced was “bad enough†to call themself a survivor. We do it for women.
Event Details:
Thursday, December 6th
12-1pm
Memorial Hall, Confederation Centre of the Arts
Charlottetown, PE
