December 6, 2023
Dear members,
On December 6th, we all come together for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. On this day, in 1989, fourteen women were killed based on ideologies of misogyny and hate at École Polytechnique, Montréal. They were killed for being women, and for choosing to be educated, and choosing to rise up in a world that constantly pushes them down.
As we come together as a community in education, we should be reminded that there is ongoing harm to women that continues to take place in this sector and this institution. Whether that be issues of racism against racialized women, transphobia and homophobia against women, or the ongoing systems of oppression that keep women oppressed - we have a responsibility to see those threads of oppression from the past to the present. Today, women teaching in gender studies programs, or teaching on issues of equity face ongoing threats of harm. And this too, is our history and our present moment.
We hope that you will continue to join us in remembering, but working to resist violence against women in education. It is our collective responsibility to resist.
On December 6, we remember:
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
Sharn Sandhra
Human Rights & International Solidarity Representative
