December 6 made Jean Steinberg want to scream. So, last year,
to mark the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre and the National Day
of Action and Remembrance on Violence Against Women, she did.
Steinberg and a friend planned a moment of screaming—not
silence—on the corner of Spring Garden Road and South Park Street.
“It was amazing,” says the 22-year-old Dalhousie student. “It was one
of the most powerful moments.”
Steinberg’s contribution has become more than that, though. Her
idea—born of frustration with “being silent for these 14 women and
not taking it to the broader level and asking how many women in our
lives have been affected by physical violence, sexual violence,
emotional violence”—and her contribution to the December 6 planning
committee has helped galvanize a shift in the meaning of the day.
Activism and a sense of looking forward are now entrenched in
December 6, and that makes sense because, in the words of long-time
December 6 organizer Kim Vance, “sadness can only take you so far.”
“The violence in our community is very real,” says Steinberg. “I
would say every woman in my life has experienced it in some way,
whether it’s a cat-call on the street or whether it’s being a survivor
of assault.”
This December 6 marks the 20th anniversary of the day Marc
Lépine walked into Montreal’s École Polytechnique and
gunned down 14 women in a bid to “fight feminism.”
To mark 20 years, the planning committee organized a 20-day campaign
leading up to the vigil on December 6, which will be held in front of
the main branch library on Spring Garden Road. (See events listings,
page 50.)
The campaign launched November 16 with a screening of the 2009
Quebec docu-drama Polytechnique. Kim Vance was central to
bringing in the film. Vance, now 41, was a student at Dalhousie in
1989. Polytechnique “was important to bring here,” says Vance,
“especially for women who are on campus now that may not have even been
born. It’s important that they be able to see and relate to the event
and understand that the women on campus that day weren’t that different
than the women on campus today. It was a pretty common day on a pretty
common campus. It could have been anywhere.”
The Canadian Labour Congress (canadianlabour.ca) has created a series
of postcards to be sent daily to Stephen Harper, with each card
addressing a different issue, such as violence against women in the
workplace, against immigrant women and the importance of maintaining
the gun registry.
This year also includes a handful of events that put violence
against women in a global context and that examine kinds of violence
that are different than mere physical harm. Vance gives the example of
a November 25 talk by Zimbabwean activist Veronica Ngwerume about
gender roles and health. “In a context where women have no power,”
Vance says, “a disease like HIV/AIDS becomes a tool of violence.”
This broader scope of events is welcomed by Jean Steinberg and other
under-30 women on the planning committee. Steinberg calls December 6
inspiring and frustrating. “It’s really important to honour those women
and honour their families, but I just keep thinking about how many
women over the past 20 years have lost their lives or have had their
lives severely changed by violence, that we are not respecting in the
same way.
“I find it a really difficult day in that I don’t find there’s as
much focus on the current situation as there is on a reflection of the
past. And I think part of that is how little we understand and
recognize systemic violence in our community.”
Vance agrees. “Even the night of the film screening, they found the
body of a young woman from Burnt Church, who had been missing and then
killed. And it’s like: this continues to go on.”
Related Stories
Lessons from December 6
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2009.
“born of frustration with “being silent for these 14 women and not taking it to the broader level and asking how many women in our lives have been affected by physical violence, sexual violence, emotional violence”–
But try being a supportive man during years ” Of take back the night” and being yelled at and spit on.
Enjoy your robe of martyrdom, it is easier to wear than trying to understand that not all men are evil.
it sounds like you’re enoying plenty of martyrdom yourself there Matthew. You don’t sound evil, but you sure sound bitter and whiny.
What is it with some men? Do you want a medal for “being a good guy”? How come you are not frustrated and angry at the fact that so many women every day, every month and every year fall victim to violence directed at them just because they are women? Doesn’t it upset you? Or are you more upset at the women who think it is terrible?