Today (December 6, 2024) marks 35 years since 14 women – 12 engineering students, a nursing student and a financial clerk at École Polytechnique in Montreal – were murdered by a man who was motivated by his hatred of women and feminism.
In 1991, the Government of Canada proclaimed December 6 to be the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The day falls in the middle of the worldwide 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, which runs from November 25 (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), to December 10 (International Human Rights Day).
Members of the MSVU Community gathered today to mark the anniversary of the massacre at École Polytechnique and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
To start the event, the names of all those who were killed at École Polytechnique were read and a rose was placed on a table in memory of each woman. We remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
A keynote address was delivered by Dawn Ferris, Executive Director of Cumberland County Transition House Association (CCTHA) also known as Autumn House (Amherst, NS). Dawn highlighted the services that Autumn House provides for women and gender diverse people who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and the statistics surrounding IPV across Canada and in Nova Scotia. Dawn noted a program unique to Autumn House called New Directions that offers men who engage in abusive behaviour help to change their behaviour.
The event, organized by the Alexa McDonough Institute for Women, Gender and Social Justice (AMI) and moderated by Dr. Meredith Ralston, professor and Chair of Women’s Studies, offered attendees the opportunity for reflection and conversation. Dr. Ralston tasked attendees with reflecting on Dawn’s presentation and asking themselves “once we’ve faced the reality, what can we do about it?”
Attendees filled the discussion period with dialogue about how to reach the root of the issue, how to raise awareness and how to help with the changes needed to provide wrap around supports to those who have experienced IPV. The combination of presentations and conversation reminded all that the crisis of violence against women persists in Canada and around the world.