A picture of each of the 14 women killed in the 1989 anti-feminist attack at École Polytechnique in Montreal was framed and displayed at a Friday vigil in Guelph to remember victims of femicide.
The name and story of each of the 14 women were read aloud along with the biographies of the 37 women who were killed in this past year in Ontario alone.
“It continues,” said event organizer Jessica St. Peter.
“People will say that was 30 years ago but it continues and we see what femicide is and whether its sons or husbands or brothers looking at that difference of gender equality.”
The event held at the Gilbert MacIntyre and Son Funeral saw the names of 780 women individually placed on paper cards along with the year they passed away to illustrate the high number of women lost to femicide in Ontario since 1989.
“These are only public reports,” said executive director of the Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, adding that there are might be many more whose story was never told.
The approximate 75 individuals present at the vigil stood for a moment of silence, held a vigil in remembrance and listened to a powerful testament from a survivor of domestic violence who spoke about her traumatizing past and the role Marianne’s Place played in healing her emotional wounds with love.
St. Peter said hearing a testament from a survivor of domestic abuse has a powerful impact.
“What happened in 1989 gave it a name to what women working in the violence against women had been advocating for, for so long before,” said St. Peter.
“This day would not exist if there were not 14 white women in an academic institution and doing this work means that we have to have an intersectional lens.”
She said it is important to have an intersectional lens in the way survivors are supported, in the way organizations helping women promote their services and in the way people understand the differences in relationships and cultures to make sure that there is not a singular approach toward helping survivors who are in danger of femicide.
She said people shouldn't have to worry about identifying as feminists out of fear.
“We want to believe that there are a growing number of men who are advocating for the same issues and it isn't about us and them. It is a collaborate effort,” said St. Peter
“It’s not just about the women in your own life but it’s about the way we look at humanity.”
