Commemoration for the victims of Polytechnique as closing event of the "12 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women" campaign

MONTREAL, Dec. 6, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., is the commemoration of the 1989 anti-feminist attack during which 14 women were murdered. December 6 also marks the end of the national "12 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women" campaign. The ceremony, organized by the 12 Days Committee and coordinated by the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ), will take place at Place-du-6-décembre on Queen Mary. Several guests will speak at the event. Among them, Viviane Michel, former president of Quebec Native Women, Louise Henry, author of the book "Délivrez-nous de la prison Leclerc!" and Elahe Machouf of the Iranian Women's Association.

This ceremony takes place 33 years after the massacre in a context where gender-based violence still wreaks havoc in Quebec and around the world. In Quebec, online hostility towards women is on the rise and three quarters of women between the ages of 18 and 24 say they have been victims of harassment in virtual exchanges. Racialized women, Aboriginal women, women with disabilities, LBT2+ women and women in rural areas are at even greater risk of experiencing and escalating this violence.

"When we speak up against violence, it's not just physical violence which leads to femicide. Gender-based violence takes many forms, both interpersonal and systemic, and women still have too little recourse to stop it," explains Taïna Mueth, spokesperson, and coordinator of the 2022 campaign. "And while the violence experienced by all women is often trivialized, the violence experienced by women at the crossroads of oppressions is almost always ignored."

Thirty-three years after Polytechnique, it's clear that there's still a lot of work to be done upstream for women to finally live in a violence-free world.

"Community groups are struggling to respond to the numerous help requests," adds Mueth. "To transform society and prevent tragedies like Polytechnique, grassroot organizations need to not only help victims, but prevent violence through public education and awareness. This is a big mandate, and the community is stretched thin by lack of funding and resources."

The 12 Days Committee is grateful to the organizations that helped shape its 2022 campaign : the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concertation-Femme, the Centre de solidarité lesbienne, Stella, PiamP, Hoodstock, Service d'Entraide Passerelle, CSQ, the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal, FTQ, the Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine, Girls Action Foundation, the Regroupement Naissance-Renaissance, Solidarité sans frontières and the Centre des femmes de Rivière-des-Prairies. We are also grateful to the Secrétariat à la condition féminine for its financial support.

Regarding the 12 Days of Action Committee:
Coordinated by the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ), the 12 Days Committee is an innovative self-managed coalition in Quebec that brings together nearly 20 feminist organizations. For the past 11 years, the 12 Days Committee has organized its annual campaign from November 25^th to December 6 with the purpose of eliminating systemic and institutional violence against women. For more information, visit www.12joursdaction.com

SOURCE Fédération des femmes du Québec

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