One woman is killed in Ontario every six days by a man who purports to love her, according to Michelle Schryer, executive director of the Chatham-Kent Sexual Assault Crisis Centre.
That is a sobering statistic, one that Schryer said makes it seem as if no progress has been made in combatting the incidence of violence against women. But she said is awareness is growing, thanks to events such as the awareness walk recently to kick off Women Abuse Prevention Month during the month of November.
“Everyone has a role to play in ending domestic violence,” she said. “Everyone everywhere needs to stop making excuses for people who commit gender violence.”
Organized by the Chatham-Kent Women’s Centre (CKWC), the walk began at the Civic Centre, moving along King Street, over the Lacroix Street Bridge and on to Evangel Church on Sandys Street
CKWC board president Darlene Smith kicked off the event with guest speakers Mayor Randy Hope, Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn and Schryer.
“There’s always more that can be done, and events such as this bring more awareness as each year goes by,” Mayor Hope said. “Awareness that we want a safe community and that we want to eradicate domestic violence here and across Ontario.”
The mayor said some words of encouragement about the Shine Your Light campaign that will run from Nov. 12-30, asking homeowners and businesses to purchase purple lights to shine and bring more awareness to the issue.
Conn added some statistics from Chatham-Kent, explaining that in 2016 the CKPS looked into an average of 182 domestic violence calls per month and of those, they arrest 29 people, making that almost one arrest per day.
“It is everyone’s fundamental right to live free of violence in their home and in the community,” Conn said. “We still have a long way to go but I want to thank you for your extraordinary efforts and for being here today to help end the cycle of domestic violence in our community.”
According to CKWC executive director Karen Hunter, the Shine Your Light campaign bulbs are available at Home Hardware on Keil Drive in Chatham, and purple scarves are on sale now for the Wrapped in Courage awareness and fundraiser campaign during the month of November.
