By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Vigils offer show of support for assault victim

Oct 14, 2016 | 9:39 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Almost 100 people braved the chill wind Friday night to show support for the victim of a brutal assault on September 30th.

The 25-year old woman remains in critical condition in a Calgary hospital and has not yet been brought out of an induced coma as she struggles through significant trauma. It is possible she may be in hospital fore more than a year, and the family continues to ask for prayers from their community.

Last night’s events began at 6:00 with a Unity Round Dance in Galt Gardens, with individuals from several communities taking part in the Unity Peace circle, to show support for the victim and her family.

At 7:00, a candlelight vigil for the victim was held at Henderson Lake park.  Dozens of people attended the event, which was organized by Bill Fox, who was prompted to get involved after seeing and hearing so much of the story in the media.

“It really hit home that it could be anyone’s daughter, anyone’s mother, sister and there was so much negative spin on it, against that individual (the accused) and really I wanted to kind of take the focus away from that and focus on helping the victim.

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Fox, who does not know the victim, also voiced the fact that it is unfortunate that women find they can’t walk alone, “We just want to provide a safe community and help with that.”  He was overwhelmed by the support for the event.

Many young women attended the vigil, including a social worker named Savana.  Like most of those around her, she had no connection to the victim or her family but saw herself as an advocate for women and sexual assault survivors in general.

“It’s really important for me to be here because this literally could have happened to anybody – just being a woman, that puts me at an increased risk of being sexually assaulted, so I think it’s really important that we all create a community and surround people who are affected by sexual assault.”

Mayor Chris Spearman also attended the vigils and spoke to the crowd about the need to support people in the community who are hurting. He encouraged those who were present to support a local t-shirt and hoody campaign undertaken by Players Bench.  All the money raised from the sale of the garments will be used to support the family, who are dealing with added costs as they tend to the young woman at a hospital in Calgary.

The Mayor also mentioned the tension in the city since the attack took place and asked the community not to blame people who have nothing to do with the incident. He reminds everyone that the attack was the action of one individual and not the community he comes from.