{"id":5265,"date":"2015-12-04T09:59:30","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T14:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fr.une-sen.org\/press\/?p=5265"},"modified":"2015-12-04T09:59:30","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T14:59:30","slug":"december-6-national-day-of-remembrance-and-action-on-violence-against-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/?p=5265","title":{"rendered":"December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dec6\"<\/p>\n

Being tasked to write this article presented me with a challenge. I wasn\u2019t sure of the best way to approach the topic of violence against women in order to deliver a piece that was insightful to the reader and meaningful to me. In my brainstorming sessions, I kept thinking of the 14 women who were killed on December 6th, 1989<\/a> simply for the fact that they were women. Images and thoughts from that horrific day resonated so strongly within me and kept repeating like a song on a continuous loop.<\/p>\n

A chance conversation with one of my closest and dearest friends provided me with a \u201ceureka\u201d moment that gave me focus and reminded me of the enormity and severity of violence against women and how some of our sisters are continually living this reality – this perpetual motion. When you think about it, everyone knows someone or about someone who has been the victim of violence. As I sat there listening and bearing witness to the experience of a domestic abuse survivor, I was reminded about that continuous loop. And I was reminded that this wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d been privy to such tales of violence and triumph. The importance of being there to listen and lend support is integral to the victim\u2019s support network.<\/p>\n

(Thank you, Stacy, for bringing into focus the direction I needed as inspiration for this article.)<\/p>\n

According to Status of Women in Canada<\/a>, these are the facts:<\/p>\n

FACT: Women are 11 times more likely than men to be victims of sexual offences
\nFACT: Women are 4 times more likely than men to experience intimate partner violence
\nFACT: Women with disabilities are at 4 times greater risk of experiencing sexual assault
\nFACT: The RCMP reports that nearly 1,200 Aboriginal women and girls have been murdered or gone missing in Canada
\nFACT: Young women between the ages of 15 and 24 experience the highest rates of violence
\nFACT: Since 1980, the number of non-Aboriginal female victims of homicide has been declining while the number of Aboriginal female victims has remained relatively constant
\nFACT: 8 out of 10 victims of intimate partner violence are women
\nFACT: Data suggests that one quarter of female students in college or university have experienced sexual assault or attempted sexual assault; 90% of these students knew their attacker
\nFACT: Women are 3 times more likely than men to experience criminal harassment
\nFACT: Aboriginal women are 3 times more likely to report experiencing violence than non-Aboriginal women
\nFACT: Aboriginal women are over-represented among Canada\u2019s murdered women; they make up 4% of the female population but represent 16% of all murdered women
\nFACT: Sexual offences are 8 times more likely to be committed against girls ages 12-17 than male youth
\nFACT: 90% of Sexual assaults against women by a non-spousal accused are never reported to police
\nFACT: Women know their sexual attacker in three quarters of incidents<\/p>\n

The facts here speak for themselves – women are targets simply because of their gender. So on this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in Canada I strongly urge you to acknowledge without pride or prejudice, as an individual and a society, that gender-based violence is not just a women\u2019s issue, it\u2019s an everybody issue. Ignoring and sweeping it under the carpet is no longer an option or an alternative.<\/p>\n

Instead, we must address the issue; face the FACTs head-on.<\/p>\n

Together, we can root out this malignancy that has us hobbled and look towards engendering a society where respect for women is the new norm rather than the exception. It is left to us to facilitate spaces where victims feel free to express their experiences and lend support where we must to enable the healing of all those who have been affected by gender-based acts of violence.
\nIn closing, I would like to share this poem with you\u2026<\/p>\n

Victim<\/strong><\/p>\n

VICTIMS, each and every one of us
\nIn one way or another \u2013 Victim
\nThe unknowingly conscious recipient of some or other crime against
\nhumanity \u2013 Victim<\/p>\n

VICTIMS, each and every one of us
\nProperly thrashed and subjected, to some or another of society\u2019s ills
\nDissected and Rejected, ready to occupy another space on humanity\u2019s
\nlandfill \u2013 Victim<\/p>\n

VICTIMS, each and every one of us
\nPillaged and Plundered, left falling, failing, floundering for – just give me
\njust one more chance, come on give me just one more chance, ready for
\nanother option outside of that of – Victim<\/p>\n

VICTIMS, each and every one of us
\nDesperate for movement, anywhere else but between a rock and its hardest
\nplace
\nRendered incapable, unable to gasp for breath as life holds us each
\nimmobilized, comatose and in a state of suspended animation \u2013 Victim<\/p>\n

VICTIMS, each and every one of us<\/p>\n

Hayley Millington is the UNE\u2019s National Equity Representative for Women.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being tasked to write this article presented me with a challenge. I wasn\u2019t sure of the best way to approach the topic of violence against women in order to deliver a piece that was insightful to the reader and meaningful to me. In my brainstorming sessions, I kept thinking of the 14 women who were … <\/p>\n

>> “December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,9,12,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5270,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5265\/revisions\/5270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unesen.ca\/press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}