National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
Content Warning: This article will discuss broad themes of violence against women and firearm use. This may be triggering to readers with similar experiences. Please engage in self-care as you proceed. Support resources are available at the bottom of this article.
On this day 32 years ago, fourteen young women lost their lives to misogyny and hatred at Polytechnique Montreal. An anti-feminist attack and one of the largest mass shootings in Canadian history, the event shook the whole country and renewed calls for action on violence against women. Today, we remember:
Geneviève Bergeron, 21.
Hélène Colgan, 23.
Nathalie Croteau, 23.
Barbara Daigneault, 22.
Anne-Marie Edward, 21.
Maud Haviernick, 29.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, 31.
Maryse Laganière, 25.
Maryse Leclair, 23.
Anne-Marie Lemay, 22.
Sonia Pelletier, 28.
Michèle Richard, 21.
Annie St-Arneault, 23.
Annie Turcotte, 21.
We honour their memory and unite our voices in condemning the misogyny that led to this tragedy.
Understanding Violence Against Women
Although violence has an impact on all Canadians, some people are at a greater risk of experiencing gender-based violence, including women and girls, two-spirit and LGBTQ people, Indigenous women and girls, racialized women, and women with disabilities. Living in fear of violence is a reality for too many Canadian women; more than four in 10 women in Canada have experienced some form of psychological, physical, or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Some women and girls continue to be at a higher risk of gender-based violence due to the discrimination and additional barriers they face because of their sexuality, race, disability, or social and economic situation.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have been escalated rates of gender-based violence around the world. The social and economic impact of the public health emergency has resulted in a shadow pandemic. It has underscored the systemic issues that lead to violence, as well as the gaps in support to protect and prevent those at risk from harm.
Taking Action to Support Survivors and Introduce Gun Control Measures
We can and we must end gender-based violence. That is why we are investing to better support survivors and their families, making the justice system more responsive to their needs, and supporting the important work of women’s organizations across the country. We are also working closely with the provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to co-develop a National Action Plan to implement the Calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
At the same time, we are committed to strengthening gun control and banning the type of weapon that took lives at École Polytechnique. On December 6th, 1989, the Ruger Mini-14 was used to take the lives of fourteen young women. On May 1st, 2020, our government prohibited the Ruger Mini-14 and over 1,500 other assault weapon models and variants. These guns have no place in Canada.
Gender-based violence and gun violence are inextricably linked. While guns alone do not cause violence, we also know that easy access to firearms elevates risk of harm, and of lethal harm, in gender-based violent acts. In Canadian households, the presence of firearms is the single greatest risk factor for lethality of domestic violence. The presence of a firearm can be used as an instrument of violence, intimidation, and coercion. That's why, along with prohibiting assault weapons, we've introduced laws to identify and remove abusers' access to deadly firearms, including lifetime background checks to prevent those with a history of abuse against their spouse/partner/children from obtaining a firearms license. We have also pledged to introduce "red flag" laws that would allow immediate removal of firearms if that person is a threat to themselves or others, particularly to their spouse or partner.
Violence against women and girls is preventable, and it starts with common-sense gun control.
Online Hate and Digital Violence Against Women
Violence against women can take on many forms — including digital. Online hate and cyberviolence have recently emerged as extensions of violence against women. Cyberviolence, stalking, and technology-assisted misogyny are all-too common. These issues are rooted in gender inequality. While people of all genders experience cyberviolence, women and girls are at greater risk of experiencing violence online, especially severe types of harassment and sexualized abuse. These forms of hate and violence are rooted in social inequity, and based on patriarchy and heteronormativity.
Online hate is often directed at those who transgress patriarchal stereotypes and expectations. It controls peoples’ behaviour by creating discomfort, anxiety, and fear. The effects of online hate are multiplied for people who face other forms of discrimination on top of sexism. This includes women who identify as Indigenous, Black, and living with disabilities, among others. They are “doubly targeted.”
Exposure to hateful attitudes that promote an inferior social, political, and economic position for women influence violence against women. It escalates the risk that consumers of such content will adopt similar attitudes and act on them.
Hatred towards women increases physical acts of violence against women, just as inciting racial hate leads to an increase in racially-motivated violence. The intersection of these factors makes it especially dangerous for Indigenous women, Black women, women or colour, and identifiably Muslim women or women presumed to be Muslim.
Online hate material is especially dangerous due to the multiplier effect online. This material is permanently held in digital spaces; even when it is deleted in some spaces, it exists in others and can repeatedly expose women to harms.
Reducing online hate is essential to ending gender-based violence overall. Combatting online hate and holding social media giants accountable is the first step towards digital safety for all.
Read more about digital violence against women here.
National Day of Remembrance and Action
In 1991, the Parliament of Canada declared December 6th to be a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. To keep alive the memory of the 14 women who were killed in the anti-feminist attack of December 6th, 1989, the City of Montreal maintains a highly symbolic tradition by lighting 14 beams of light into the sky to pay tribute to the victims.
At 5:10 p.m., when the first shots were fired, 14 beams will illuminate the sky above Mount Royal, Quebec. The beams will be lit one at a time, within seconds of each other, when the names of the 14 victims are called.
Today is a painful reminder of the patriarchical norms and behaviours inherent in gender-based discrimination. We remember, and we commit to action.
Support Services & Resources
If you or someone you know is in need of intimate or gender-based violence-related support services, please share the following:
Assaulted Women's Helpline
Website: www.awhl.org
Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511 or #SAFE (#7233) on your Bell/Rogers/Fido/Telus mobile phone
Fem’aide Helpline (French only)
Website: www.femaide.ca
Telephone: 1-877-336-2433
Talk4Healing (Helpline for Indigenous Women)
Website: www.talk4healing.com
Toll-free: 1-855-554-4325
Find more services at www.endingviolencecanada.org. Locate your closest violence against women service via www.sheltersafe.ca.
