Marking 35 years since the L’École Polytechnique Massacre

Content Warning: This statement includes mentions of violence against women and gender non-conforming people.

Today marks 35 years since the tragic attack at L’École Polytechnique, where 14 women were targeted and killed simply because they were women. These women had families, dreams, and their whole lives ahead of them – all stolen in an act of violence. On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we honour their lives- cut short – and the longer lives they deserved to live.

In Canada, a woman or girl is killed every 48 hours. Indigenous women and girls are six times more likely to be killed than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Women continue to experience sexual assault and harassment at home, in public, online and in the workplace. In fact, 80% of sexual assaults occur in someone’s home and 70% are committed by someone the survivor knows, like a family member, friend, or a coworker. About half of all sexual assaults occur on dates.

These statistics only tell part of the story. Many survivors never report assaults due to fear, social stigma, distrust of police, and the overwhelming burden of proof placed on survivors in sexual violence cases. This makes it even harder to understand how widespread the problem really is.

Adding to the crisis, far-right extremism is a growing threat to the rights of women, Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender non-confirming people.

Gender-based violence is upheld by societal attitudes, systemic failures, and inaction at every level. This also means we have the collective power to make things better.

Today, we renew our commitment to work for gender equality, support survivors, and take action to end gender-based violence. Together, we can create a safer and more equal Canada for everyone.

If you or someone you know is facing abuse of any kind, you can call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511.

You can find a list of provincial and territorial supports at the Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment.