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National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
December 6, 2021 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
On December 6, students and survivors across the country will join together in walking out, gathering together and calling for great institutional accountability to ending sexual and gender-based violence.
Here at SFU
We will gather at 10am in the Convocation Mall for button making, make a collaborative Declaration of Survivors Rights, and discuss the legacy of violence in post-secondary that so many continue to experience. The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is part of the 16-days of Action to End Gender-based Violence and marks the 32 year since the tragic murder of 14 women at Polytechnique Montréal. As we mourn their loss and remember their lives, we reaffirm our commitment to fight the hatred that led to this tragedy, and the misogyny that still exists today. If you are not able to join in person, please use #SafeCampusWalkOut to show your support.
What is sexual and gender-based violence? Students for Consent Culture Canada, who is a partner in the walkout along with Safe Campus Coalition, defines it as:
Gender-based violence is a term that includes sexual assault or abuse, sexual harassment, and other forms of violence and discrimination that draw on gendered stereotypes and power structures. In Canada, these forms of violence have traditionally been understood in the framework of “violence against women.” We recognise and affirm the work of feminist activists who demanded recognition and social change on behalf of women harmed by men and patriarchal power. We understand these forms of violence within broader systems of hierarchy, power, and discrimination, and use the term “gender-based violence” to highlight the impact on Queer, non-binary, trans, and two-spirit individuals, in addition to cisgender women and men. GBV can be physical, sexual, psychological, spiritual, and structural. Fundamental to our understanding of GBV is that it intersects with other forms of violence and oppression in ways that can impact its meanings and effects on victims and survivors, as well as how it is perceived by others. These forms of violence and oppression include: Racism, Colonialism, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Ableism Classism and Poverty