The death of a 17-year-old teen girl in Milverton on Dec. 4 cast an even sadder tone across a vigil held at Moorefield United Church on Dec. 6, to remember women and children killed in domestic violence events in 2012.
The candlelight vigil in the sanctuary was attended by about a dozen men and women who also came to pay respects to the memory of 14 young female students who were killed in 1989 at L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.
Guest speaker at the event was Kim Gignac, rural support counsellor for the Rural Women’s Support Program (RWSP) based out of Palmerston. The RWSP is under the umbrella of the Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis centre.
Gignac spoke about her position with the program. She said she counsels women who are presently living in abusive situations, or those who lived through abuse as young people.
Gignac and program volunteer Roxanne Bowman read off a list of names of women and one child who were murdered by partners or family members during 2012.
Day of remembrance
Dec. 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It was established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, and commemorates the anniversary of the 1989 Montreal massacre during which 14 young women were tragically killed at Ecole Polytechnique because of their gender.
Nationally, Dec. 6 represents a time to pause and reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in society.
It is also a time to have a special thought for all the women and girls who live daily with the threat of violence or who have died as a result of deliberate acts of gender-based violence.
The Moorefield United Church, which has members whose families have been affected by domestic violence, plans to continue to mark the day each year.
