Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women
It has been 30 years since the tragic mass shooting at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal (December 6, 1989) that saw the promising lives of 14 young women cut violently short.
On this day, we remember Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colga, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
This day also falls within the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and this year's campaign #OurActionsMatter calls on each of us to share the concrete actions we are taking in our own communities and in our own lives to question, call out, and speak up against acts of gender-based violence.
The JLP acts in this movement by taking a proactive approach to engage federal public employees through its workshop on ‘Preventing harassment and violence in the workplace’. In this workshop, participants explore how to prevent harassment in their workplace, how domestic violence can become a workplace issue, and what can be done to create a safe, healthy, inclusive and respectful workplace.
On December 6, we honour those who have experienced gender-based violence; it is also a time to act. We all have a role to play in creating a culture of respect and taking meaningful action to ensure that tragedies like l'École Polytechnique de Montréal never happen again.