Each year near or on December 6th, Youville Centre holds a vigil for all women who are, and have been, victims of violence.
Each year we centre this vigil around the 14 female victims of 1989’s Ecole Polytechnique Massacre. This is a way for us to observe the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, and to remember these women who were still young students when they died.
On Friday we participated in the vigil by saying a few words about each woman who was killed, placing a white flower by her photo, and lighting a candle for her.
We then lit candles and had a moment of silence for all women who are victims of violence.
We listened to a song, “When I Get Where I’m Going” by Brad Paisley. Chosen by one of our students, this song was meant to find something uplifting to go away with from the vigil. The thought behind it was that even though this violent atrocity occurred, we can try to find some peace for the victims and their families by thinking that they may be in a safe place now.
If you’d like to listen to the song and view the video yourself, we have posted it below.