A vigil to mark the 30 years since the targeted murder of 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal brought the Saugeen Shores community together to mourn and address violence against women still taking place in the community and the Nation.
The vigil hosted by the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Southport saw the names and a brief biography of the women who were gunned down in 1989, read aloud by community members, many of whom donned a white ribbon to signify the need to end male violence against women and girls.
Heather Hodgson-Schleich, Volunteer Coordinator for Victim Services for Bruce Grey and Perth says from Jan 1-Nov 30th, 2019 they assisted 699 clients.
Hodgson-Schleich is a former Peel Region Police Officer and says more people are coming forward.
“I know the statistics are staggering, really when you look at them, but that's a good sign because people are coming forward,” she says.
Statistics from this year as of Nov, 30 in Bruce Grey and Perth:
-393 clients involved in 286 Domestic Violence Incidents
-223 clients involved in 126 Sexual Violence incidents
-33 clients involved in 12 Human Trafficking Incidents
-50 clients involved in 43 Criminal Harassment and Stalking situations
“Domestic violence is a highest volume…a lot of times we don't think of Criminal Harassment and Stalking as being acts of violence but they really are and people are afraid of those acts too.”
She adds the role of Police and how they deal with victims of violence has changed since she started as an officer.
“They're very in tune with the victim and very supportive, which is huge and now that we've got Victim's Services linked with them…it's almost like a continuation of the service.”
Michelle Lamont of the Women's House Service Bruce and Grey told the crowd in its last fiscal year they served 810 women, 219 children and overall handled 8,649 crisis and advocacy calls, which she called “unfortunate numbers”.
Over the years the members of the CFUW have hosted the event; and the numbers attendance continues to grow with school children attending the Friday (Nov. 6) event.
The Chantry Singers ended the vigil with the singing of “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.
