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The list of missing and murdered women gets longer every year.
Ottawa (11 Feb. 2014) – Twenty-three years ago in January 1991, a woman was brutally murdered in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Her murder was the catalyst that moved women into action resulting in a march on February 14 to express compassion and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
A women's death in 1991, sparks annual event in honour of missing and murdered women
Since 1991, the February 14 Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women has been held annually. The march continues to draw attention to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual violence faced by women, especially Indigenous women, on a daily basis.
“We are here to honour and remember the women, and we are here because we are failing to protect women from poverty and systemic exploitation, abuse and violence. We are here in sorrow and in anger because the violence continues each and every day and the list of missing and murdered women gets longer every year,” says Marlene George, Memorial March Committee organizer.
The march is organized by women living in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, however over the years many other cities have joined including Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa. In Vancouver, friends and families will stop at sites in the downtown eastside where women have died or were last seen to offer prayers, medicines and roses in remembrance.
Renewed calls for a national and international public inquiry
“Why is it such an uphill battle to get justice for missing and murdered women and their families and communities? We are calling for a national and international public inquiry led by family and community members. We need political will at all levels of government to address these tragedies as well as ongoing gendered violence, poverty, and racism,” states March organizer Mona Woodward.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is encouraging Canadians to take part in the Memorial March and to raise awareness of the need for a national public inquiry into the tragedy of these missing and murdered Indigenous women.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE