Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, otherwise known as December 6th, when on that date in 1989, a man murdered 14 female students at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal because they were women.

Each year we remember Genevieve Bergeron, Helene Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganiere, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michele Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz and grieve over each promising young life cut short by misogyny and violence.

Two years ago we marked the 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. It remains important today that we continue to honour not only these 14 women who lost their lives 22 years ago, but also the number of women who continue to die at the hands of their abusers.  This year in Ontario, 16 women were murdered by their intimate partners who were later charged or committed suicide (OAITH Femicide List).  Being heard in court right now is the trial of the honour murders of three sisters,  Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti  Shafia, 13 and their step mother Rona in 1999 . On this day we also honour female survivors of violence, including a Toronto mother and her two children who were thrown off their balcony, but survived (CBC News).

As long as women continue to be harmed and killed because of their gender, we will have a reason to light candles and carry roses on December 6th in their memory.  Tonight, Women Won’t Forget is holding their annual December 6th Vigil at Philosopher’s Walk at the University of Toronto at 6:00pm.  There will be a First Nations healing ceremony, performances, and a speech by Aruna Papp, a survivor of forced marriage and domestic abuse who is now a counselor.

Today, The National Day for Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women,  join us at the Women Won’t Forget Vigil to remember, reflect, and advocate for change.