Violence Against Women Ceremony Recognizes 20 Years of Challenges, Progress

People were urged to stand together and support each other to stop violence against women at a ceremony at Province House in Halifax today, Dec. 4.

The ceremony was to commemorate Dec. 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, and the 20th anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at École Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989.

Education Minister Marilyn More, on behalf of Denise Peterson-Rafuse, Minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, asked those in attendance to honour women living with, or lost to, violence, starting with attending vigils across the province.

"We make a statement when we attend an event like this one. We make a statement when we support organizations that help women, men, and their families heal and build new lives. That statement is violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable and never tolerable," said Ms. More.

Joining Ms. More were speakers from the Alice Housing program Healing the Bruises, YWCA's Girls Changing the World, Men Standing Up, and Metro Interagency Committee on Family Violence.

The Transition House Association of Nova Scotia set up a timeline marking its 20th anniversary in 2009, showing milestones from the work of its partners.

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women has become a day to remember all women who live with, or, have died because of violence.

Statistics on the council's website report that 91 women were victims of homicide in Nova Scotia between 1991 and 2008.

Between 1991 and 2007, nearly 60 per cent of female homicide victims were killed by their spouses or intimate partners, compared to 9.3 per cent of male victims. Women in Nova Scotia are about 45 times more likely to be killed by a spouse or intimate partner than they are by a stranger.

More information is online at women.gov.ns.ca/pubFactSheets.asp .