December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which commemorates the tragic events of December 6, 1989, when 14 young women were murdered and 13 others were injured at École Polytechnique in Montreal. This day serves as a solemn reminder of the ongoing issues surrounding misogyny and gender-based violence, which disproportionately impacts those facing multiple intersecting grounds of oppression. Indigenous women are six times more likely to be killed than non-Indigenous women. Women with a disability are almost twice as likely as women without a disability to experience violent crime and sexual assault. A third of trans and non-binary people of colour reported having been sexually assaulted, compared to a quarter of non-racialized trans people.
As we fight gender-based violence at home and at work, we also need to tackle violence within the labour movement. Too many workers – especially women and workers who experience oppression – have been subjected to violence and harassment in union spaces. Read the report of CUPE’s National Safe Union Spaces Working Group, about the progress made and the work ahead.
On this day, and every day, CUPE Nova Scotia joins those demanding an end to gender-based violence everywhere that it occurs.