On Dec. 6, 1989, 25-year-old Marc Lépine walked into a class, separated the men from the women, and, screaming “I hate feminists,” opened fire on female engineering students before taking his own life.
The massacre, Canada’s worst mass shooting, triggered a worldwide awareness movement by men working to put an end to violence against women, known as the White Ribbon campaign. Every year, the campaign runs between Nov. 25 and Dec. 6, which marks both the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
In Ottawa, the campaign is organized by the Sexual Assault Network and Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW).
“The period that goes on between those two dates is called the 16 days of activism. Dec. 6 this year will be the 21st anniversary of the L’École Polytechnique shooting, so we use that day to remember and honour those women who were killed through male violence against women,” said Bailey Reid, coordinator of Neighbours, Friends and Families with OCTEVAW.
Commemorative events include a Vigil to Remember and a Call to Action on Dec. 6 at Minto Park at 6 p.m., followed by a second vigil at All Saints Anglican Church in Westboro at 7:30 p.m.
According to Erin Williams, OCTEVAW executive director, eight women fall victim to sexual assault every day in Ottawa, and only 10 percent of the victims report sexual violence cases.
Meanwhile, the Ottawa chapter of Amnesty International is also marking the 16 days of activism. They hosted the launch of the campaign Nov. 24 at 312 Laurier Ave., in addition to running a Facebook group – the Amnesty International Gender Rights Network Ottawa, aimed at exchanging views and news on the issue.
Amnesty International is also backing YWCA’s own Rose campaign to end violence against women. It is estimated that more than 100,000 women and children are driven out of their homes and into emergency shelters every year in Canada due to domestic violence and substance abuse. Activists are calling on the federal government to implement a national housing strategy to ensure women and children are not without a home.
Also among the victims remembered on Dec. 6 are: Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Maryse Leclair, Annie St-Arneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Michelle Richard, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Lemay, Maryse Laganière, Sonia Pelletier, Maud Haviernick, and Barbara Maria Klucznik.
