DECEMBER 6TH
NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE & ACTION ON
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Twenty years ago, a 25-year old man armed with a semi-automatic rifle, walked
into the l’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, entered a classroom and separated
the men from the women. After shouting that he hated feminists, he opened fire,
killing six women. He continued his rampage through the school, killing a total
of 14 women, and injuring another 10 women and four men. He then turned the
weapon on himself. In a suicide note, he held feminists responsible for all the
things that had gone wrong in his life.
The Montreal Massacre is
annually commemorated across the country through memorials and vigils. Recently,
I started thinking that it is simply not good enough to reflect on the
extraordinary acts of violence perpetrated against those women 20 years ago. In
addition to mourning these deaths, December 6th should be a day on which we
renew our commitment to eradicate violence against women. This means
understanding that until women have economic and social equality, the violence
will not end.
Sadly, we are witnessing an
erosion of government policies that impact positively on women, along with a
reduction of advocacy and research funding to women’s programs. If we are to
challenge the culture and the systems that keep women from true economic and
social equality, we need to fight hard and take nothing for granted.
So where do we begin? What
needs to be done? An excellent start would be to lobby for restored funding to
(1) the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, a feminist activist
organization that lobbied the federal government on women’s equality, socially
and economically; and (2) the Court Challenges Program of Canada, established in
1994 to provide financial assistance for important court cases challenging
gender discrimination under Canada’s Constitution.
These are the types of
organizations and programs that bring focus to the fact that women need a living
wage and pay equity. Let’s close the wage gap that has women earning 71 cents
on the male dollar. Our families need a national public childcare program and
full access to early learning programs. (Shamefully, on the 2008 UNICEF report
card had Canada tied for last place with Ireland out of 25 of the world’s
richest countries in terms of supporting early child development.) Women need
equal access to Employment Insurance, and access to justice services and legal
aid.
While we work on the deep
economic/political roots of violence against women, we need immediate increased
support for women’s shelters and funding for second stage, transitional
housing. We need to do a better job of providing funding to women’s centres
that provide front-line advocacy and support. We need better protection and
support under law for women who have been victims of sexual assault.
So, as we remember the events of
December 6th and the women who lost their lives, let us renew our efforts to
agitate for change. Let’s make our voices heard in our communities, at our
Labour Councils and through the power of our vote.
And in remembrance, let’s
participate in memorials and candlelight vigils in our towns and cities across
this province on December 6th.
Dora Robinson, Region 3
Vice-Chair, Provincial Women’s Committee
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