ST. PAUL – Despite the chilly and windy weather, a small gathering of residents gathered on Nov. 8 to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Under the dark November sky, a candlelight vigil was held at Lion's Park.
The vigil was organized by the Capella Centre, a St. Paul-based women’s shelter helping women and children escape domestic violence serving much of the Lakeland area.
As the attendees huddled together with candles in hand, braving the cold, Paula Mack with the Capella Centre said during a speech that between 2011 and 2021, 1,125 gender-related homicides of women and girls were reported in Canada. And 66 per cent of these were committed by an intimate partner, 28 per cent by a family member, five per cent by a friend or an acquaintance, and one per cent by a stranger.
She also said that the rate of gender-related homicide of women and girls declined since 2001, but there was a 14 per cent increase between 2020 and 2021 – the “highest rate recorded since 2017,” said Mack.
Meanwhile, in the province, the rate of intimate partner violence against women in urban areas reported to the police, “is 535 incidents per 100,000 population,” said Mack, citing a 2022 report from Statistics Canada. “This is higher than the national average of 461 incidents per 100,000 population.”
So, Mack asked those in attendance, “How can we help?”
How to help
There are many ways to help, said Mack, responding to her own question. This includes listening and supporting survivors or victims of domestic abuse if they reach out.
“Believe them and be open to learning from their experiences.”
Also, she encourages the public to speak out against gender-based violence, and if necessary, when they witness it happening, to “try to find safe ways to intervene.”
École Polytechnique massacre
During the vigil, one minute of silence was also offered to the 14 murdered women in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989. On that date, a gunman entered a classroom, separated the men from the women and murdered 14 women.
“The 14 victims died only because they were women. We gather every November since and continue to build awareness, educate, and work together to make the shift to create a safe society for women and girls. Thirty-four years later, gender-based violence and discrimination continues to happen every day in places we work, learn and live,” said Mack.
Working together
Mack concluded the vigil by thanking the attendees, before encouraging others to use their voices and platforms to speak out against violence and work together to “build a brighter, safer future for women, girls, and transgendered people in our communities, in Alberta, in Canada and around the world.”
