December 6
Geneviève Bergeron, 21
Hélène Colgan, 23
Nathalie Croteau, 23
Barbara Daigneault, 22
Anne-Marie Edward, 21
Maud Haviernick, 29
Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31
Maryse Leclair, 23
Annie St.-Arneault, 23
Michèle Richard, 21
Maryse Laganière, 25
Anne-Marie Lemay, 22
Sonia Pelletier, 28
Annie Turcotte, aged 21
sabotabby reminds us that this is not an isolated madman's act:
the official National Day of Remembrance frames violence against women in a particular way that does not reflect the experience of most women. Most violence against women is not so dramatic as a deranged misogynist marching into a university and gunning down students. Most violence against women is silenced.
We hear about the madmen and the random acts of violence---École Polytechnique, Virginia Tech., Columbine---and we observe the gendered pattern of their violence. But until they become statistics, reported in UN or NGO reports or, more rarely, in the mainstream media, we don't hear about the violence and fear that form part of the lives of women all over the world.
Eighteen years ago, eleven women---women younger than me, women the age of some of my students---were gunned down by a man who thought that women were responsible for his unhappiness. Every day, women face gendered violence. Remember the eleven, but remember the uncounted ones, too.
Hélène Colgan, 23
Nathalie Croteau, 23
Barbara Daigneault, 22
Anne-Marie Edward, 21
Maud Haviernick, 29
Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31
Maryse Leclair, 23
Annie St.-Arneault, 23
Michèle Richard, 21
Maryse Laganière, 25
Anne-Marie Lemay, 22
Sonia Pelletier, 28
Annie Turcotte, aged 21
sabotabby reminds us that this is not an isolated madman's act:
the official National Day of Remembrance frames violence against women in a particular way that does not reflect the experience of most women. Most violence against women is not so dramatic as a deranged misogynist marching into a university and gunning down students. Most violence against women is silenced.
We hear about the madmen and the random acts of violence---École Polytechnique, Virginia Tech., Columbine---and we observe the gendered pattern of their violence. But until they become statistics, reported in UN or NGO reports or, more rarely, in the mainstream media, we don't hear about the violence and fear that form part of the lives of women all over the world.
Eighteen years ago, eleven women---women younger than me, women the age of some of my students---were gunned down by a man who thought that women were responsible for his unhappiness. Every day, women face gendered violence. Remember the eleven, but remember the uncounted ones, too.