Today, we remember the 14 women murdered in Montreal 30 years ago. This event sparked conversation and action on violence against women. But it’s still a pervasive and tragic reality.
Last year in Canada, a woman or girl was killed every 2.5 days. Women are 20% more likely to experience violence than men, a rate that increases even more if they are an immigrant, Indigenous, person of colour, disabled, transgender, or part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Manitoba has some of the highest rates of domestic violence and domestic violence homicide in the provinces, especially among Indigenous women, who are six times more likely to be killed than non-Indigenous women.
In order to end gender-based violence, we must provide supports for those who have experienced it, education on healthy relationships, healing for victims and perpetrators (who usually have experienced abuse in their lives), and continue to make it clear that this violence is unacceptable.
WCWRC is committed to providing a safe space for all women, and to helping women who have experienced gender-based violence access housing, income, and healing support services. In Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg, we call for dedicated gendered safe spaces that offer gender-based violence supports, regardless of who perpetrated the violence or where the violence took place.
No one should be subjected to any type of violence, but violence based on their gender or identity, with its roots in oppression and discrimination, is especially heinous. We must work to eliminate gender-based violence so that no one will have to live in fear of experiencing violence based on who they are.