Battling violence against women

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

Violence against women continues unabated today, even after 17 years of remembering the Ecole Polytechnique Massacre, and only the community can help end the senseless cycle of violence, said Association des Familles de Personnes Assassines ou Disparus (AFPAD) West Island spokesman Doreen Haddad Drummond said.

Seventeen years ago today, Marc Lepine shot and killed 14 women, including West Islander Anne-Marie Edward when he invaded the Université de Montreal facility in a fit of pique before turning his gun on himself.

That scary scene was nearly recreated in September, when Kimveer Gill shot 20 people, killing one in the atrium at Dawson College, seemingly at random.

“Every year, we go to remember, but that’s 1989, and look at how many girls have been killed or murdered since then and I wonder,� said Haddad Drummond, whose daughter Kelly-Anne was killed in her home by boyfriend Martin Morin-Cousineau in 2004.

“Men murder their wives and children and then take their own lives,� Haddad Drummond said, referring to the October murders of Mila Voynova and her daughters Iva and Alice Tzokovitch at the hands of their husband and father.

“That tells me the problem is worsening. There’s something very wrong here, when people actively see signs that there was something wrong and do nothing. If someone’s personality changes all of a sudden, people should say something,� she said, adding vigilance could be the difference between life and death for some women.

“These precious lives were lost. We need to learn from these tragedies and try to be more vigilant,� said the Dorval resident.

An annual vigil held every year on Dec. 6 will be again held tonight at Valois United Church in Pointe Claire, organized by the West Island Women’s Centre, where Voynova taught exercise classes.

Executive director Karen Henchey said this year’s memorial will take on a more personal role for many at the centre because of Voynova’s involvement.

“We lost a wonderful teacher and when innocent lives are lost it’s a very painful time. The community — and the centre — must pull together and see what we can do. We must be proactive. Sometimes it feels like we live in a community here in the West Island where it isn’t quite right, or maybe people are too proud, to find help. Sometimes, we’re all a little reluctant to get help — and some aren’t even aware they have the problem,� she said, adding the community has seen more than its share of senseless violence in a year

“We had the Dawson shooting right around the same time as Mila’s death, and it’s just a time we all wish we didn’t have to live through,� she said.

The annual vigil to mark the anniversary of the Ecole Polytechnique massacre will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Valois United Church, 70 Belmont Ave. in Pointe Claire. For more information, call the West Island Women’s Centre at 514-695-8529.