Every December 6th, Canadians remember the 14 victims of the Montreal Massacre, and recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Because there is still a need, roughly one in two women in this country over the age of 16 has experienced physical or sexual violence, according to the Canadian Women's Foundation.
Violence against women is the world’s largest and most persistent human rights violation. Over 50% of Canadian women will experience an incident of violence at some point in their lives, the majority before they turn 25. There are an estimated 1,200 murdered and missing Aboriginal women. The rape, bullying and eventual suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons reached international audiences. And several sexual assault allegations against former, high-profile Q radio show host Jian Ghomeshi resulted in his dismissal and an upheaval at the CBC.
Women around the world are killed, assaulted, abused and harassed in pandemic numbers, according to the United Nations. Thirty per cent of women globally experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their partner, and 38 per cent of murders of women are committed by someone with whom they were intimate, according to the World Health Organization.
The issues that feminism fights for: an end to gender-based violence, social and systemic gender equality, ownership of one's own body for women and woman-identified individuals must stay in the forefront for Canadians until we can make a sustainable change and help other nations do the same.
Violence against women is front-page news, so the L'École Polytechnique massacre continues to hold relevance. Had their lives not been cut short, the 14 women killed on that terrible evening 28 years ago would have pursued careers, formed families, experienced adult life. As we mark the anniversary of the massacre, we take a moment to remember them. The video below is the reading of the names of the 14 women that were murdered that day. May they Rest in Peace.
Video credit: Shuby Sharma, Jason Keddie, voiced by Donna Desbien.