Newmarket and its area transitional women's shelters recognized the loss of women to gender-based and domestic violence with a flag-raising ceremony Dec. 6.
Yellow Brick House, Sandgate Women’s Shelter municipal dignitaries and York Regional Police raised a flag at Cane Parkway in recognition of The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The town also put flags throughout the community at half-mast to honour the occasion.
Yellow Brick House CEO Lorris Herenda said it is important to raise awareness, noting that 52 women were included in the annual provincial femicide list from the Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses.
“Most people are not necessarily aware of the prevalence of it,” she said. “It’s important to raise awareness, continue to educate our community and each other about the devastating impact.”
The national day recognizes the anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at the university Polytechnique Montréal in 1989. Organizations across the region and country are commemorating the occasion.
In the annual Ontario femicide list, two Newmarket women were counted among the 52. The list also included several others from throughout York Region.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said preventative work is critical. He said we need to ensure boys and men learn and understand gender-based violence, and that violence comes from a history of inequality.
“We can’t let boys and men walk around thinking, 'we’re doing great because we didn’t hit anyone.' There’s so much more to it, so much more complexity to the violence and the language and what creates the space for these really extreme acts of violence.
“We have to do work along the spectrum of gender-based violence,” he added.
Women’s shelters are bracing for a busier time of year ahead. Transitional shelters see an average of a 30 per cent increase in calls for support over the holidays, Herenda said. Although she specified the holidays do not cause violence, the stresses of the season can cause it to escalate.
“I encourage the community to support their local agencies, local shelters with financial support,” she said. “For the families who are really leaving everything behind and starting their life anew.”
York Region typically does well in supporting those organizations doing the work on violence against women, Herenda said. But further efforts towards prevention are important, she added.
“Educating our youth about healthy relationships. We want to break the cycle of violence,” she said. “We need to be able to speak about gender equality, equal rights, equal pay, financial stability employment stability … Provide education to our community and our children that will enable them to make different choices.”
