Montreal, Monday, November 25, 2019 – On December 6, 1989, a masculinist shooter assassinated 13 students and one teacher at the École Polytechnique because they were women. This was the very definition of a femicide. 30 years later, how much progress has been made in combating gender-based violence in Quebec? At L’R des centres de femmes du Québec, our response is “not much’’. That’s why we are organizing to denounce violence against women.

Violence against women in the news

The recent French-language documentary Bitch!, which shone a light on the troubling rise of masculinist activism on digital platforms, is a blatant example. “It is as dangerous to be a woman in 2019 than it was in 1989, and we’re well-placed to know this, because our network reaches more than 250,000 women each year,” says Odile Boisclair, co-coordinator of L’R des centres de femmes and responsible for the violence portfolio. In fact, women’s centres are constantly targeted in antifeminist attacks, which are a form of violence against women.

Violence against women is intersectional!

Some women are more at risk than others of being victims of violence: for example, young women; Indigenous women; disabled women; women who are living with mental health issues; women from the LGBTQIA communities (lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual); migrant women; refugees and immigrants who have been sponsored by their spouses; and women who live in isolated regions. According to Statistics Canada, in 2014, the proportion of disabled women who reported being the victims of spousal violence was more than double the rates reported by other women, both in reports of physical violence and of sexual violence.

Demonstration to come

On December 3rd, 2019, as part of the 12 Days of Action commemorating the Polytechnique massacre, the members of L’R des femmes are organizing a demonstration in support of women who have experienced violence from powerful men in Quebec. This action will be designed to draw attention to the cause of violence against women. The demonstration will take place in Montreal at 7 PM.

For interviews and more information:
Katia Pharand Dinardo, communications
Cell phone: 438-886-3239   email: Pharand-dinardo@rcentres.qc.ca