Revelstoke Women’s Shelter hosting a night to raise awareness for gender-based violence

Tonight the Revelstoke Women’s Shelter is hosting a free event at a local coffee house to come together in remembrance of the women who lost their lives in the École Polytechnique shooting on December 6, 1989.

Raise Your Voice, a night to raise awareness for gender-based violence, will take place tonight at Conversations Coffee from 6:30–8:30 p.m. The night will provide an opportunity for conversation, commemoration, and to enjoy live musical performances.

This year the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Dec. 6) marks 30 years since the Montreal Massacre, in which a man walked into an engineering class at École Polytechnique de Montréal, separated the men from the women and shot and killed 14 women specifically because they were women, injuring another 10.

“It’s an opportunity for people to come together to commemorate the victims, but also to raise awareness around gender-based violence and its impact on children today,” said Lynn Loeppky, Executive Director at the Revelstoke Women’s Shelter.

According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, last year 173 women and girls in Canada were killed by violence, and the proportion of women killed by a spouse or partner is over eight times greater than the proportion of men.

The night will also feature performances by May Davis, Cale Noseworthy and Aorangi. The event is sponsored by Stoke FM, Conversations Coffee House, and La Baguette.

For domestic violence support, call the Revelstoke Women’s Shelter’s Crisis Line at (250) 837-1111 or visit their website at revelstokewomensshelter.ca.

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