IWAV and The Circle Education are hosting the annual December 6th Vigil, in memorial and solidarity of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada, on Wednesday, December 6 in Centennial Park.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada was established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada to commemorate the 14 young women who were murdered by a gunman on December 6, 1989, at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal as a deliberate act of violence against women.
Nearly 35 years have passed since the École Polytechnique massacre, and gender-based violence continues to be a real and horrific issue in the world, in Canada, and in our own community.
While violence affects people of all genders, ages, religions, cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and socio-economic backgrounds, populations more at risk of gender-based violence include women, young women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ2 and gender diverse people, women living in Northern, rural, and remote communities, and women living with disabilities.
In 2019*, women living in rural areas of the provinces of Canada experienced rates of intimate partner violence that were almost twice as high as women living in urban areas (860 versus 467 victims per 100,000 population), with rates close to four times higher than those for men in these areas (246).
Salt Spring islanders are invited to gather at 5 pm in Centennial Park for the December 6th Memorial (Wednesday, December 6th), to remember and commit to violence-free communities.
* https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/