Thirty-three. That’s how many women have been killed in violent encounters in Ontario in the past year. It’s a sobering statistic, made more so when you hear each of their names, ages and brief details of lives lived read aloud.
This writer read two at a ceremony last night, their details in stark contrast.
Precious Charbonneau, 33, killed December 20, 2015. “She went to two secondary schools in Toronto, but little else is public about her life,” read her card. But much was publicized about her grisly death. I looked.
The other and last of the 33 to be read, details still fresh in my mind from recent news reports, was Elana Fric-Shamji, 40, whose husband has been accused in her murder. Her card read: “Elana was described as a ‘shining star’ on track for a leadership role in the medical field. She was someone to model. She was always upbeat and always made people feel happy. She was as devoted to medical policy as she was to her practice, especially with issues surrounding health care for women, the underprivileged and refugees.”
How they spent their lives were different but they, like the others honoured, were united in death by two commonalities: they died because of violence, and they were women.
The event at Sutherland Hall – jointly hosted by YWCA Muskoka, the Muskoka Women’s Advocacy Group, and Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services (MPSSAS) – was held on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, marked each year on December 6 in memory of the 14 women murdered by a gunman at L’École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989 who singled them out simply because they were women.
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.
It would easy to become despondent when faced with the reality that 27 years later so many women are still murdered because they are women, often at the hands of men. Or that more than 50 per cent of Canadian women will experience violence in their lives, most before they turn 25, most knowing their abuser.
But this ceremony, like others happening across the country yesterday, wasn’t only about mourning and remembrance. It was about action. And it was about hope.
Lauren Power, the executive director of MPSSAS, said, “Remembering this day can be painful. One of my colleagues said, ‘Lauren, would you also speak about hope.’ She knew that I was having a hard time this fall, feeling like misogyny was taking over. I thank her for that because it helped me to think about what can I feel some hope for.” She read Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, which Power said was her most hopeful poem.
After the names of the 33 women had been read and pianist Sarah Spring had played Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, Kathleen May began an overview of the women’s movement in 2016 with this reminder:
As women are multi-faceted beings, we can both mourn the women whose lives were taken this year and all years, and also demand changes to make our society one that values women and supports women.
A YWCA Canada bookmark shared last night outlines what all people can do to help stop violence against women:
- Speak up about violence in your community
- Encourage people who commit violence to get help
- Teach girls to protect and empower themselves
- Raise children who can resolve conflict without violence
- Make sure your home, workplace and community are safe for women and girls
- Speak out against negative media images of women and girls
- Promote women’s economic and political equality
- Support organizations that work to end violence against women
- Donate your time and support the cause
- Remember
If you need help:
Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services daphnewmyn.com
Women’s Sexual Assault Help Line 1-800-461-2929
Chrysalis (Huntsville’s women’s shelter) 705-789-8488
YWCA Muskoka December 6th Fund (established in memory of Maggie Ringling to provide interest-free loans to help remove some of the financial barriers that prevent women from leaving abusive relationships)
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