A ceremony for the Montreal Massacre will be held Dec. 6.
Image Credit: PIXABAY
December 06, 2019 - 9:10 AM
Kelowna will remember victims of the Montreal Massacre today as well as local women who have fallen prey to violence.
It’s been 30 years since a man walked into the École Polytechnique and killed 14 women. Two years after the massacre, Dec. 6 was declared the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women and people gathered across the country to remember those lost and the threat and reality of violence in women’s daily lives.
Kelowna was no different and the “Rose Dedication Ceremony” was initiated with a memorial list of approximately 20 names.
In this city — like so many others— the list has grown over the years. It now includes more than 80 names of local women who have been murdered by men.
“We must remember and then we must act,” Olivia Hofer, one of the organizers of the memorial, said.
Every week in Canada at least one woman is murdered by a boyfriend or spouse – more than half of those women have reported domestic violence to the police. One-fifth of young women are in an abusive relationship and 13 women and girls are sexually assaulted every day in B.C. Indigenous women are six times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women.
Residents will be able to commemorate this day by gathering at 5:45 p.m. today, Dec. 6, at the Kelowna Art Gallery, and then marching to the courthouse, where roses will be laid in memory of local women murdered by men and the women of the Montreal Massacre.
Participants will then return to the Art Gallery to share refreshments and a short presentation. Everyone is invited regardless of gender.
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