Revealed Dec 07, 2023 • 4 minute learn
Because the names of 14 girls murdered in a misogynist rage 34 years in the past in Montreal have been learn, their pictures have been held by members on the Vigil Towards Violence Towards Girls Dec. 6 in Port Elgin, hosted by the Canadian Federation of College Girls, Southport. Photograph by Frances Learment/Postmedia
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The three native shelters serving fleeing girls and youngsters are full. Home abuse circumstances are up three %, and sexual violence offences are up 18 per cent. Feels like large metropolis statistics – however these intimate associate/gender-based violence numbers are for Saugeen Shores.
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“Gender-based violence is here. It is happening in Saugeen Shores. It could be your neighbour,” mentioned Odette Bartnicki, president of the Canadian Federation of College Girls, Southport, previous to the group’s annual Vigil Towards Violence Towards Girls, Dec. 6 at Port Elgin’s Coulter Parkette.
“The more people learn about intimate partners or gender-based violence, the more likely people will reach out for help for themselves or for someone else. If this (event) resulted in one person reaching out for help – that’s why we’re here,” Bartnicki mentioned.
She recounted how after final 12 months’s occasion, vigil organizers discovered assist for an area woman who got here ahead to say her daughter had been murdered by her associate in one other province.
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Odette Bartnicki, president of the Canadian Federation of College Girls, Southport, mentioned they should deal with gender-based violence as a result of sexual assault offences are rising in Saugeen Shores, together with home assault calls.
A number of hundred individuals of all ages and genders gathered for the ceremony to recollect the 14 girls, most engineering college students, murdered in a misogynistic rage in Montreal 34 years in the past, killed as a result of they have been girls when a gunman entered the École Polytechnique, culled the ladies from the lads and started capturing. Ten girls and 4 males have been additionally injured earlier than killing himself leaving a suicide word that blamed feminists for his issues.
In her welcome Bartnicki requested the gang to not solely bear in mind the 14 murdered girls, the 1,800 lacking and murdered Indigenous girls, but in addition the ladies who’re being crushed or abused “every single day, including right here in Saugeen Shores.”
“I like to think that each of you standing here today are thinking about somebody – even somebody you might not know – that might be in that situation and wondering what we can do as a society to change the way things are in our own town,” Bartnicki mentioned, thanking everybody for attending.
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Jessica St. Peter, the supervisor of Kabaeshiwim Respite Girls’s Shelter at Saugeen First Nation, mentioned 620 girls and youngsters are turned away from shelters day by day in Canada as a result of they’re full.
Visitor speaker Jessica St. Peter, supervisor of the four-bedroom Kabaeshiwim Respite Girls’s Shelter at Saugeen First Nation, mentioned the day continues to be essential as a result of girls continued to be killed – 62 in Ontario died by femicide prior to now 12 months, and so they all have an obligation.
“We have an obligation to listen, to not place judgement, to not make assumptions….” she mentioned, including in addition they want to speak about extra protected locations as a result of there’s a scarcity of beds in native shelters in Gray Bruce.
“If you think about the reality that one-in-three women will experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, where are they going to turn?” St. Peter mentioned citing nationwide knowledge that on common yearly, between 19,000 and 20,000 Canadian girls are turned away from shelters yearly as a result of the beds are full.
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Whereas donated toys put smiles on faces of needy children this vacation season, these “aren’t the kind of resources that help us in those times of need,” St. Pierre mentioned, including when a lady reveals up on the door and so they don’t have a mattress, they use donations from native enterprise house owners to pay for a resort/motel room till a shelter mattress is accessible.
St. Peter was grateful to see so many males within the crowd. “Not because I want to raise you and thank you for something – to be honest – is your duty…. but I also want to acknowledge those male champions, because you are the ones who will encourage other men to treat women with respect, to recognize the warning signs in themselves and to seek help when they need it.”
It’s no marvel the three native shelters accessible to girls and their kids fleeing violence are full – Saugeen Shores Police Service Sgt. Chantal Primeau instructed members at a Dec. 6 Vigil Towards Violence Towards Girls that reviews of sexual violence jumped 18 % year-over-year in Saugeen Shores.
Saugeen Shores has not escaped will increase in gender-based violence reported throughout Canada, notably affecting girls, ladies and LGBTQIA2S.
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“This is also the case locally with an increase from last year in domestic violence incidents by three percent, and sexual offences by 18 percent,” Saugeen Shores Police Service Sgt. Chantal Primeau instructed the gang.
She mentioned SSPS acknowledges the murdered girls as leaders, mentors and entrepreneurs who have been focused by gender-based violence, and so they “promise to collaborate with our community to eliminate stigmas related to such violence” and provide swift help and sources for victims.
Sgt. Primeau mentioned the $8,000-plus in provincial grant cash SSPS acquired two years paid for extra coaching, investitive recourses and academic supplies, together with $1,000 for pamphlets and handouts. The pamphlets detailing how and the place to get assist, may be present in most native companies.
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“Together we strive to ensure that no one facing victimization from gender-based violence feels isolated or without support,” Sgt. Primeau mentioned, including the ladies being commemorated have been “trailblazers.” “We commit to support and empower those who follow in their footsteps.”
Because the names of the 14 murdered girls have been solemnly learn, chosen members held their images.
The Chantry Singers, led by Anne Little, offered the standard wrap-up to the vigil with a shifting rendition of ‘Let There be Peace on Earth’, a tune written in 1955 asking for world peace and understanding.
Donations provided on the occasion will probably be shared with the three girls’s shelters serving Gray-Bruce. Roughly $2,000 was collectd final 12 months.
The Chantry Singers, led by Anne Little, wrapped up the annual violence towards girls vigil in Port Elgin Dec. 6 with a shifting rendition of ‘Let There be Peace’ a tune written by in 1955 that talks of peace and understanding.
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