Montreal, April 2, 2021
On
Friday, April 2, thousands of women
accompanied by their families and
allies marched through Quebec streets to
oppose violence against women.
In the span of eight weeks, eight women have
been murdered by their
spouses or former spouses, bringing to 15 the
number of women who have
died as a result of
domestic violence since the pandemic began.
Refusing to be silent or
passive in the face of these horrific
tragedies, shelter organizations
for women who are victims of violence launched
the call for a day of
mobilization under the slogans Not One
More! Enough Is Enough! Actions were
also held in more than 20 cities across Quebec.
Women's
shelters were at the heart of the
mobilization.
In
Montreal, at 1:00 pm, thousands of women of
all ages and their allies
gathered at Lafontaine Park. Immediate demands
to prevent and end
violence were reiterated: increase resources
for women who are victims
of domestic violence so that services are
available 24/7, offer courses
on sexuality worthy of their name, ensure a
sustainable
minimum wage, guarantee decent living
conditions for women with
disabilities, guarantee social housing, and
fight racism.
The speakers emphasized that violence against
women is not a women's
issue, but a societal issue. Domestic violence
is a reflection of all
forms of violence against women that exist in
society, such as
psychological, verbal, physical, sexual and
economic violence, they
said.
Women, their organizations and their allies
are facing these
tragedies together and have been struggling to
find solutions for
years. The Legault government must implement
these solutions to put an
end to this national tragedy. Almost all of
the speakers emphasized
that these demands and proposed solutions are
not new and have been
known
to governments for years. Viviane Michel,
speaking on behalf of Quebec
Native Women, said: "How many times have you
consulted us? How many
briefs have we submitted to you? How many
solutions have we proposed to
you to end domestic violence? And we are
always at the bottom of the
list when the budgets come out [...] Our
shelters
need more services, more workers [...] How
many times have we held
demonstrations? How many times have we had
marches?"
"Now
is the time for the Legault government to implement these solutions by
placing the expertise of women and their anti-violence defence
organizations front and centre. Certain organizations have been
fighting for 40 years to counter violence against women: the Legault
government cannot do without our experience and expertise, we must be
part of the solution, not just consulted," they said.
The
right to live in safety must be guaranteed by
the authorities.
Alexandra Pierre, President of League of
Rights and Freedoms said that
violence against women "undermines the right
to prosper, to equality,
to physical integrity, even the right to life.
The right to housing, to
economic security are trampled upon daily. Of
course we must act on
spousal violence, but we must also look at the
negligence and violence
of police, judicial and political authorities
and condemn them. The
Quebec government must start taking these
femicides and everything
that makes them possible seriously."
Thousands of participants marched along
Rachel and Saint-Denis
streets and Mont-Royal Avenue to the foot of
Mount Royal, with drivers
and passers-by honking and waving.
At the end of the demonstration, the speakers
said that this
struggle is for women in the here and now, and
for those who will come
after, so that the rights of all are finally
respected.
Ending violence against women and their
children is a crucial demand
that humanizes all of society. The Legault
government must be held
accountable for its refusal to invest so that
in Quebec, violence
against women and children is a thing of the
past.
Montreal
Gatineau
Baie-Comeau
Magdalen Islands
Laurentians
Mauricie
Quebec City
Rimouski
Rouyn-Noranda
This article was published in
April 9, 2021 - No. 26
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08265.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
