By Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs - (@morrittjacobs on Twitter)

YWCA Honours National Day of Remembrance on Violence Against Women

Dec 7, 2016 | 12:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Each and every day the YWCA of Lethbridge and District bears witness to the effects of violence against women.

To mark the 27th anniversary of one of the most intense acts of violence against women in the country’s history – L’Ecole Polytechnique massacre community members and participants from the all-girl’s youth program honoured the victims of the tragedy with a candle light rose ceremony and a moment of silence.

The National Day of Remembrance on Violence Against Women is set aside every Dec. 6, to remember the 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal were killed on Dec. 6, 1989, by an armed student in a hate crime against women. The shooter opened fire in the name of “fighting feminism” by targeting females studying to be engineers.

While the ceremony acknowledged what occurred nearly three decades ago, Jennifer Lepko, CEO of the local YWCA opened the vigil reminding the audience that the gender-based discrimination behind Polytechnique still plagues society today.

Lepko was mindful not to mention the name of the Polytechnique shooter, asking instead for the public to take time to learn the names of the victims.

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“We see the horrible events that happened in Toronto and we know the description of this wealthy neurosurgeon but in my eyes he is lost and we need to focus on the women whose life was taken away. Same as Polytechnique,” she said.

Lepko added that the YWCA used the ceremony as a viable teaching experience for the young girls from the youth program, giving them the opportunity to carry candles and roses.

“This was an event that occurred because of gender-based violence. They are desensitized to violence and sexualization and they may not understand the capacity but it is important for them to see that this is not normal but that it is happening.”

While tragedies like Polytechnique garner media attention each and every year, the majority of intersectional violence women experience goes unknown and uncovered by media outlets.

Deneal Nickel, president of The Young Women’s Leadership Council, spoke towards the scope of the problem and its effect on society as a whole.

“There is a misconception that there is a certain demographic that it (violence against women) impacts. It is not just women who are living high risk lifestyles women all over are being murdered and their children have to grow up in that cycle.”

Women’s resources such as the YWCA and The Young Women’s Leadership Council strive to empower women by educating them on social, environmental and professional gender-based issues that they may encounter in an effort to combat violence against women.