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UNBC marks Montreal Massacre in campus event on violence against women

Nov. 25 is a sombre day in campuses across the country. Every year students gather at University of Northern B.C. for the day, set aside internationally, to recognize violence against women.
UNBC

Nov. 25 is a sombre day in campuses across the country.

Every year students gather at University of Northern B.C. for the day, set aside internationally, to recognize violence against women.

It’s also a day to recall the Montreal Massacre, when Marc Lépine slaughtered female engineering students at École Polytechnique. 

“I think we need to acknowledge the deaths that happened Dec. 6 1989,” said Boyd, who has worked at UNBC’s Northern Women's Centre for 13 years and also works with the Elizabeth Fry Society. “It was directed at feminists.”

Boyd called it the “single biggest influence” on her work, recalling how Lépine divided the students in a classroom by gender before opening fire on the women.

“Fourteen young women were murdered simply because they were women,” Boyd said. “We still have a lot of violence against women in our country, in our community and it’s something that we need to face and be honest about in terms of recognizing that violence does exist still, that we’re not all equal.”

Lépine should not be treated as an aberration, said Boyd, who sees violence in her day-to-day work with women. 

She recalled broken limbs, cigarette burns and poisoning. Emotional, mental and sexual violence are all common complaints. She’s seen instances of controlling behaviour through repeated text messages, phone calls, and stalking.

“They come in many forms and they are very prevalent,” said Boyd, citing the 1,000 domestic violence incidents Prince George RCMP said had been reported by November last year. 

Change needs to come from all community sectors, rather than women-serving organizations, she said, adding the first annual event Inspiring Women Among Us is a good start.

On campus, Boyd said she’s looking forward to seeing recommendations from UNBC President's Task Force on Sexual Violence.

“The women’s centre just can’t work in isolation. To me (the event) is the starting point at a collective look at violence on campus.”

Even so, volunteers working the UNBC booth selling T-shirts that read “Northern Feminist” were met with some “interesting comments.”

The word feminism is still met with resistance, she said.

“People just don’t like that F word… Saying you’re a feminist I wish it would open conversations rather than shut them down,” Boyd said.

“There are many men that are allies but there’s a lot of sexim out there and I think we need to acknowledge that.”

Nov. 25 marks an end to two-weeks of events focused on conversations, workshops and speakers tackling those very issues. It starts at noon Wednesday at the Canfor Winter Garden, with a reception to follow. Speakers include engineering students, professors and local poets.

“I think we need to be honest about the reality about violence against women,” Boyd said. “We need to break the silence.”