Members of Parliament for Sherbrooke and Compton-Stanstead, Élisabeth Brière and Marie-Claude Bibeau, joined their voices together to highlight the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. December 6th is not only the day to honour victims and denounce violence, it’s also the occasion to reflect and act against the devastating repercussions that this scourge has on women, families and communities in the Estrie region and across the country.
The pandemic and the confinement that followed greatly aggravated the situation all around the country. The increase in distress calls speaks volumes. Even before the pandemic, one woman in Canada was killed by her partner every six days. Half of Canadian women over the age of 16 have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence. On any given night an average of 5000 women and children sleep in shelters because of violence at home.
Facing the pandemic, over 1 000 organizations providing services to women and victims of violence benefited of $100 million in emergency funding, including $8.76 million in Quebec. In the Estrie region, women shelters such as L’Escale, la Maison Séjour and La Méridienne each received 33 000$. The Centre d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS) received 10 000$. These specific measures add themselves to other funding initiatives such as the 9 094$ the Centre des femmes du Haut-Saint-François, La Passerelle received through the Eastern Townships United Way.
«December 6th, 1989», recalls Élisabeth Brière, « I perfectly remember sitting in my university class, just like those 14 students, full of future and ambition, who were murdered in this brutal act against women. With the COVID-19 pandemic having led to an increase in violence against women in Sherbrooke, I remain committed and resolved in supporting our shelters and our local organizations to prevent and counter gender-based violence.»
Highlighted since 1991 by the Canadian Parliament in memory of the 14 young women who were murdered on December 6th 1989 at Polytechnique Montréal, this day is part of 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, which started last November 25th with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and which comes to a close with International Human Rights Day on December 10th.
« Throughout these days, it’s important to remind ourselves that this tragic reality is experienced all year long. Preventing violence and helping victims are always priorities. Pandemic or not, our government supports women shelters. These women are our mothers, our sisters, our colleagues, our spouses and our girls. Men also have a role in protecting them. Silence, like violence, isn’t an option. In these circumstances, isolation requires greater vigilance. There is always a solution and a resource at your disposition,» insists Marie-Claude Bibeau who was at the heart of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy.
Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested over $1 billion in programs and initiatives aimed towards countering gender-based violence and helping those affected by it. It’s also our Government that turned Status of Women Canada into a full fledge ministry and that reinforced the laws supporting a justice system that treats victims with the dignity and respect they deserve
The Government of Canada is currently working, in partnership with the provinces, on elaborating a national plan to counter the blight that is gender-based violence so as to ensure that victims get a better access to services.
