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My Sisters' Place Social
January 5, 2010 - 04:00am EST |
My Sisters' Place Social and December 6th Awareness
On November 30, 2009 at Local 27 the women of My Sisters' Place opened their jewellery boxes to members, family and friends and in turn those members, family and friends opened their wallets to support these women by purchasing their handcrafted jewellery. Treats dipped in the chocolate fountain were enjoyed by all. This evening social also gave everyone a chance to reflect on the 20th anniversary of the Montreal massacre on December 6,1989. Denise Hampden creator of the Handkerchief project was there to speak about gender based violence her words I found to be inspiring and I would like to share them with you.
" On December 6, 1989 women across Cananda were enlisted in a battle they did not intiate.On that December day 19 years ago
14 of our sisters, 14 of our daughters, 14 of our mothers were separated
from the men in the room and murdered. Let me say that again, they were separated from the men and murdered.
On that cold day on what seems like just a few days ago, women across this country woke up to the harsh reality that it was
possible. We were not imagining it. There was someone that hated women so much that he would take a group of strangers captive, separate them by gender and murder the women.
Since then we have spoken out, forced changes to the criminal code, made gender based violence a political issue, tried to ensure that there were safe places for women to escape to and lifted the
stigma of domestic violence. It's hard to imagine a time when it was legal to beat your wife, but it was. Domestic violence is now taken seriously by the police, although we still have some work to do there. There are now women's shelters and rape crisis shelters in virtually
every community across the country, and while the need for shelters is
shameful in 2009, and we still have to fight to have them properly funded and staffed, they are a neccessary component in this war."
I can't help but quote Tim Carrie President Local 27 when he said " I can't wait to see the day that you are out of a job and I don't say that to too many people." Said while he was speaking to a woman that runs a shelter.
Those women 20 years ago were murdered with a long gun and the gun registry was a direct result of that day. However the Conservative government wants to dismantle the gun registry. That registry not only helps protect women but also children and law enforcement officers as well. I am including a list of opposition MPs who voted with the Conservatives to scrap the gun registry. Please take the time to send each of these MPs on the list a note expressing what you think of their vote.
Shame! would be one word that comes to mind.
NDP:
Niki Ashton (Churchill, Man.)
Charlie Angus (Timmins, Ont.)
Malcom Allen (Welland, Ont.)
John Rafferty (Thunder Bay-Rainy River, Ont.)
Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore, N.S.)
Dennis Bevington (Western, Arctic)
Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C.)
Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay-Superior North, Ont.)
Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury, Ont.)
Jim Maloway (Elmwood-Trancona, Man.)
Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Ont.)
Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt, Ont.)
Liberal:
Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.)
Jean-Claude D'Amours (Madawaska-Restigouche, N.B.)
Keith Matin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, B.C.)
Scott Simms (Grand Falls, N.L.)
Todd Russell (Labrador, N.L.)
Larry Bagnell (Yukon)
Anthony Rota (Nipissing-Timiskaming, Ont.)
Scott Andrews (Avalon, N.L.)
Independant: 1
Andre Arthur (Portneuf, Que.)
The social was a success in bringing awareness of violence againt women while supporting women in our Community.
Thank you to all those who attended and to those of you that participated in the Handkerchief Project. Thank you to Brandy Damm for all of her hard work in creating the clothes line that the handkerchiefs hung from.
Special thanks goes to our Workplace Advocates and the Women's Committee for organizing this event.
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