Delegates today marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with a minute of silence and renewed commitment to address the growing problem.

OFL secretary-treasurer Irene Harris made solemn reference to the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, when gunman Marc Lepine murdered 14 women at the Ecole Polytechnique. Two of the women worked there and were members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

In the 20 years since the Montreal massacre on Dec. 6, 1989, spousal violence has claimed the lives of 486 women and children in Ontario.

The OFL and affiliated unions work with the women’s community to bring about public education, new legislation, and collective agreements to ensure that women and children are safe in their homes, workplaces, and communities.

The United Nations designated November 25 the international day to eliminate violence against women in 1999. Women’s activists have marked that day as a day against violence since 1981.

irene harris, social policy, unions, violence, women