1,000 pairs of shoes displayed in Vancouver to honour murdered women

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As multiple events across Canada to end violence against women took place, a sobering display in Vancouver showed the number of women impacted by violence in B.C.

One-thousand pairs of women’s shoes were on display at the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery downtown, ahead of a rally planned for Thursday afternoon to raise awareness about violence against women.

“To represent some of the over 1,000 women that have been killed by violence in B.C. alone,” said volunteer Dawn Stevenson. “This is somebody’s wife, somebody’s sister.”

Rally organizers said victims deserve the front page, not the perpetrators.

“The murderers are always the ones in the news, we just wanted to bring awareness to the actual victims. We know you’re there and it has to stop,” she added.

(Ash Kelly/NEWS 1130)

Stevenson said most women are killed by someone they know such as their spouse, noting even though things are changing, there’s still more to do.

A woman is murdered in Canada every four days, according to the event’s organizers. They also point out Indigenous women are six times more likely to be killed than non-Indigenous women.

Thursday marked 29 years since 14 women were killed at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, which has now become a national day of remembrance and action across the country.

For the last six years, volunteers have been setting the pairs of shoes on the steps of the gallery.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today