December 6 – We Remember: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

On November 27 2015,  the NSGEU held a flag raising ceremony in honour of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Twenty-six years ago, 14 young women were murdered at l’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. They were killed simply because they were women.

On December 6th of every year, which now marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we commemorate the lives of these women and reflect on the acts of violence against women that still occur in our society today. We take time to not only remember the women who died on this day, but to re-commit ourselves to taking action on violence against women and girls until Canada is a safe country for women.

According to the Rose Campaign, “more than 50 per cent of Canadian women will experience an incident of violence at some point in their lives, the majority before they turn 25. In most cases, women know their abuser.”

In Canada:

• Women are more likely than men to be the victims of the most severe forms of intimate partner abuse, including spousal homicide, sexual assault and stalking.
• Young women experience the highest rates of violence and the rate of violence by boyfriends is on the rise.
• Almost 40% of women in Canada who reported assault by an intimate partner said their children witnessed the violence and in many cases the violence was severe.
• In half of the cases of intimate partner violence against women that were witnessed by children, the woman feared for her life.
• The devastating count of missing and murdered Aboriginal women points to a deep-seated gendered and racialized violence in our culture.

This is simply unacceptable.

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is an opportunity for us to think about women and girls who confront violence every day, to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based acts of violence, and to build our collective resolve to eradicate violence against women.

Events in Nova Scotia for National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women:

DECEMBER 6th, 2015 5:00 PM. Frost Park, Yarmouth

Join us for a candle light vigil in Frost Park Yarmouth at the monument to end violence against women. A few short words and songs to commemorate the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

Storm location Yarmouth Town Hall

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Marina Nixon 742-3035 or Bernadette MacDonald 742-0085

Organized by South West Labour Group

Sunday, December 6th in Halifax, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Starting at the North End Library- marching to the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre

Click here for Facebook event

The Halifax-Dartmouth & District Labour Council is proud to again be a sponsor of the December 6th commemoration of the Montreal Massacre in Halifax.  December 6th is marked each year as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women and commemorates the murder of 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989.

Join community organizations, women’s groups, unions and others for a Not So Silent Vigil followed by a march and program at the Mi’kmaw Friendship Centre. This gender inclusive event will start at 5:30pm at the Halifax North Memorial Library; followed by the warmth of the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre at 2158 Gottingen Street for food, spoken word, music, action, sharing and inspiration featuring performances and speakers.

The massacre was and continues to be a wake-up call for each of us: violence against women is a tragic reality. While we hold the memory of the massacre in silent reflection at vigils we also need to speak out and end the silence that obscures this global issue. The voice of women will not be silenced.