For Immediate Release
15th Annual Valentine’s Day Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women
Calgary, Alberta – Tuesday, February 14 at 6:30 pm in the Scarboro United Church, 134 Scarboro Ave SW, we will be hosting the 15th Annual Valentine’s Day Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women, Girls and Two Spirit Peoples will be held to honour the humanity of the thousands of women who have been so cruelly wrenched from their families. Dozens of victims' friends and family members will be in attendance, along with hundreds of other community members.
The march is part of a nation-wide movement to remember all Women, Girls and Two Spirit Peoples who have been murdered or who have disappeared. It is also meant to draw attention to the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal women who are no longer with us.
The organizing committee welcomes everyone interested in honoring the Women, Girls and Two Spirit Peoples. Doors open at 6 pm, speeches at 6:30pm, and the march itself departing at 7:30 p.m. We will also be offering pins from the Moose Hide Campaign to show our commitment as community members. Out of respect to the deceased women, organizations are asked to leave their banners at home. Red cut-outs and frames with the names of missing and murdered women will be carried to honour those Women, Girls,Two Spirit Peoples, their Families, and their loved ones who are still looking for answers.
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Background Statistics:
• Recent statistics estimate that 1200 Aboriginal women and girls are missing or have been murdered; others put the figure more like 5,000.
• Indigenous women are five times more likely to die as a result of violence than any other group of women in Canada.
• Indigenous women are at a greater risk of being assaulted by an intimate partner, and are equally at risk of being assaulted by a stranger; a clear indication of the racist and sexist underpinnings of violence against Aboriginal women.
• Because of the continuing effects of the Indian Act, Indigenous women face insecurities related to housing, health, employment, and access to services both on and off the reserve; making them more vulnerable to violence.
• In recent years, the Canadian government has made significant cuts to programs designed to combat violence against women. Most notable was the decision in 2010 to cease funding to Sisters in Spirit, which was creating a database of the cases of the missing and murdered women.
*Statistics from the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, and Amnesty International
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Links:
Facebook Event Page – https://www.facebook.com/events/1254462188436828
Women’s Memorial Marches – https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
NWAC - http://www.nwac.ca/
Moose Hide Campaign – https://moosehidecampaign.ca/
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Details:
15th Annual Valentine’s Day Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women, Girls and Two Spirit Peoples
Tuesday, February 14, 2022
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
7:30 pm March begins
Scarboro United Church
134 Scarboro Ave SW
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