Please see the Women Won’t Forget website for commemoration event details.

December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal.

As you know, there has recently been a heightened awareness of the violence that women are subjected to – which makes this year’s commemoration all the more poignant.

As well as commemorating the 14 young women whose lives ended in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation, December 6 represents an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society. It is also an opportunity to consider the women and girls for whom violence is a daily reality, and to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based violence. And finally, it is a day on which communities can consider concrete actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

Every year thousands of women across the country are seriously injured – or killed – by their intimate partners. Violence affects all kinds of women regardless of age, ability, race, religion, social class and status. Statistics Canada reports that over half of all women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence; most are under the age of 25.

It’s unfortunate that at the federal level in Canada in 2006, Prime Minister Harper’s Conservatives cut five million dollars from the Status of Women Canada. It no longer funds women’s groups that do advocacy, lobbying or gender-based research and has also eliminated early learning and child care funding agreements. These assaults on women’s equality and rights have pushed more and more women into poverty and vulnerability.

Local 79 remains committed to raising awareness of these issues through our committees, including the Status of Women Committee, the Human Rights Committee and through the office of our Equity Vice-President.

The United Nations defines violence against women as:

• “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

This violence can include:

• Physical abuse: Slapping, choking, or punching her. Using hands or objects as weapons. Threatening her with a knife or gun. Committing murder.
• Sexual abuse: Usingthreats, intimidation, or physical force to force her into unwanted sexual acts.
• Emotional or verbal abuse:  Threatening to kill her (or to kill the children, other family members or pets), threatening to commit suicide, making humiliating or degrading comments about her body or behaviour, forcing her to commit degrading acts, isolating her from friends or family, confining her to the house, destroying her possessions, and other actions designed to demean her or to restrict her freedom and independence. 
• Financial abuse: Stealing or controlling her money or valuables (of particular concern to older women). Forcing her to work. Denying her the right to work.
• Spiritual abuse: Using her religious or spiritual beliefs to manipulate, dominate, and control her.
• Criminal harassment/stalking: Following her or watching her in a persistent, malicious, and unwanted manner. Invading her privacy in a way that threatens her personal safety.