Take a stand to help end violence against women.
That was the message from Bradford Mayor James Leduc, who was joined by members of council, the South Simcoe Police Service and My Sister’s Place Monday morning for a flag raising in recognition of November as Women Abuse Prevention Month and to proclaim Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
“It’s always a tough thing for us to deal with, and I hope we can eliminate violence against women,” the mayor said outside the Bradford West Gwillimbury courthouse. “In this day and age we should already have that done. It’s sad that we have to recognize this, but we will recognize it.”
According to the most recent annual report available from the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH), there were 62 victims of violence against women in the province who were killed between Nov. 26, 2022 and Nov. 25, 2023. More than 1,020 femicide victims have lost their lives to men’s violence since 1990.
In October of this year alone, OAITH reported six victims of femicide in Ontario, bringing the total at that time to 59 since Nov. 26, 2023.
OAITH defines femicide as the gender-related killing of women, children and gender-diverse individuals by men.
“Our community is committed to ending femicide and all forms of gender-based violence,” Leduc read from the proclamation. “The courage of a woman alone is not enough; it takes an entire community to end gender-based violence.”
The mayor also acknowledged that Indigenous, Black, South Asian and South East Asian women and girls were over represented within the OAITH 2021-2022 annual femicide list.
Locally, People In Transition (Alliston) Inc., best known as My Sister’s Place, operates a 12-bed shelter as well as six units of second-stage housing for victims of violence against women, both of which are usually full according to Cindy Curry, fundraising coordinator for the non-profit organization, who helped raise the flag.
While she didn’t have the exact statistics available, Curry explained the average stay of about two months has become months longer now, largely due to the difficulty finding affordable housing.
“We keep people in as long as we can help them,” she said.
Nov. 25 also kicks off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence which culminate on Dec. 10, Human Rights Day.
“November is a big month for awareness for us,” Curry said. “That’s important to get out there.”
For those experiencing domestic or gender-based violence, My Sister’s Place offers front-line staff at their shelter who can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year via their hotline at 1-800-461-5419.
“They can call that number anytime day or night and there will be someone there who can take their information, can advise them, answer questions and give them guidance,” Curry said.
My Sister’s Place provides residential and outreach services from trained professionals for women and children experiencing violence and abuse, and has been serving South Simcoe since 1987, according to their website.
Those looking for more information or to support the shelter can visit mysistersplace.ca.
