12/06/2022
On December 6, 1989, one man opened fire and killed 14 young women just because they were women in what has come to be known in Canada as the ”Montreal Massacre”. Two years later, December 6 was declared the National Day of Remembrance & Action to End Violence Against Women.
On Tuesday, December 6th, Kelowna citizens will again come together to commemorate the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women. Participants will meet at 5:00 p.m. at the Rotary Centre for the Arts for the Candlelight Walk to the Courthouse. Roses will be laid in memory of local women and the 14 women of the Montreal Massacre who have been murdered by men.
Approximately every six days a woman in Canada is murdered by her intimate partner. Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more
likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than white women. Two thirds (64%) of people in Canada know a woman who has experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
December 6th has come to symbolize the threat and reality of violence in women’s daily lives. As we have experienced locally, women from all backgrounds and ages are at risk. In 1991, the “Rose Dedication Ceremony” was initiated with a memorial list of approximately 20 names. This list has grown to include over 80 names. “We must remember and then we must act,” says Micki Materi.
Over the years, this community has used this day to demonstrate its commitment to support the prevention of violence against women. Sharon Shepherd says, “I hope that in the future there could be a much bigger acknowledgment and celebration of the lives of the women that have been murdered or missing. The naming of the pathway many years ago by Parkinson Recreation Centre as “Angel Way” was only a start.”
Please join us on December 6th for the Candlelight Vigil and be part of this community’s commitment to end violence against women.
