A silent candlelit procession in Chatham Saturday morning paid tribute to the 14 women killed in the Montreal Massacre 25 years ago.
The event also coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women.
Executive Director of the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre Michelle Schryer says it's important to remember, but also take action so history doesn't repeat itself. "This tragedy should never have happened, but it did, and sadly about as many women are killed in Canada ever year as 25 years ago," says Schryer. "So we have a lot of work to do. The remembrance is important in order to keep that history alive and in people's minds."
Violence against women isn't just a domestic issue, she says, it also happens at work, school, with prostitution and trafficking. Schryer says she hopes more will be done when it comes to legislation surrounding workplace violence and harassment. "It doesn't go far enough. It still concentrates of physical harm (and) physical injury," says Schryer. "That's unfortunate because it doesn't address so many of the other issues connected to sexualized violence through harassment and stalking and that kind of thing."
Working towards peace and justice, Schryer hopes one day violence against women will come to an end.
