The YWCA Cambridge at the W will be hosting a candlelight vigil on Dec. 6 to commemorate The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The day was created to honour the 14 women who were murdered at Polytechnique Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989. On that day a man entered a mechanical engineering classroom at École Polytechnique in Montreal armed with a semi-automatic weapon and separated the men from the women, opening fire while screaming “You are all feminists.” The shooter then shot himself and in his suicide note blamed feminists for ruining his life.
According to the YWCA website, one in three women experience physical or sexual abuse, a rate that only increases among minority communities. Indigenous women are killed at a six times higher rate than non-Indigenous women.
The vigil will take place at 20 Dickson St. in Galt from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Additional ways to show support:
- Wear a white ribbon
- Observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m. on Dec. 6
- Use #16days to spur conversations around the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence that takes place from Nov. 25 to Dec. 16
The 14 women who lost their lives December 6, 1989:
- Geneviève Bergeron
- Hélène Colgan
- Nathalie Croteau
- Barbara Daigneault
- Anne-Marie Edward
- Maud Haviernick
- Maryse Laganière
- Maryse Leclair
- Anne-Marie Lemay
- Sonia Pelletier
- Michèle Richard
- Annie St-Arneault
- Annie Turcotte
- Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
