ID :
181588
Thu, 05/12/2011 - 00:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/181588
The shortlink copeid
Canadian Students March to Stop Violence against Women in Western Societies
TEHRAN,May 11 (FNA)- Canadian high school students rallied at Victoria Park Tuesday before hitting the streets of downtown Kitchener to spread the message that male violence is wrong.
"Everyone knows it's not right to hit women," said 16-year-old Anne-Marie Walsh, the record.com reported. "I think the biggest thing that is keeping male violence around is ignorance.
"Getting people more aware is important. Maybe the message starts in Waterloo and then spreads to other cities."
The Grade 10 Resurrection student joined her high school counterparts from Kitchener's St. Mary's, Waterloo's St. David and St. Benedict out of Cambridge in the annual march against male violence.
The event dates back to 1991 when a group of men marched from Windsor to Montreal to support an end to male violence. The walk was launched in the wake of the Montreal Massacre two years earlier that saw lone gunman Marc Lepine kill 14 women at the city's Ecole Polytechnique.
St. Benedict social justice and religion teacher Dwyer Sullivan took a group of students to join a leg of the march along Highway 401.
"The kids came back so enthused that the idea rose to do something here," he said.
And so, local marches ran annually in the 1990s and, after a hiatus, returned three years ago. Tuesday's event started with Gursharan Kahlon, of Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, delivering some sobering statistics.
In 2009-10, more than 440 women used services at the group's two shelters - the Anselma House in Kitchener and the Haven House in Cambridge. More than 2,500 crisis calls were also received.
"All those numbers should be zero," said Kahlon. "I can't believe in 2011 that we're still addressing fighting violence against women."
She said one out of three women aged 16-24 will experience abuse in an intimate situation, so getting the message out to young men is important.
"It's a huge problem," Kahlon said. "We can't fight this battle alone. We need men, whether they're young or old."
Two police officers escorted Tuesday's five-kilometer route that ended back at Victoria Park. About $1,500 was raised for women's shelters in Waterloo Region and Afghanistan.
"Everyone knows it's not right to hit women," said 16-year-old Anne-Marie Walsh, the record.com reported. "I think the biggest thing that is keeping male violence around is ignorance.
"Getting people more aware is important. Maybe the message starts in Waterloo and then spreads to other cities."
The Grade 10 Resurrection student joined her high school counterparts from Kitchener's St. Mary's, Waterloo's St. David and St. Benedict out of Cambridge in the annual march against male violence.
The event dates back to 1991 when a group of men marched from Windsor to Montreal to support an end to male violence. The walk was launched in the wake of the Montreal Massacre two years earlier that saw lone gunman Marc Lepine kill 14 women at the city's Ecole Polytechnique.
St. Benedict social justice and religion teacher Dwyer Sullivan took a group of students to join a leg of the march along Highway 401.
"The kids came back so enthused that the idea rose to do something here," he said.
And so, local marches ran annually in the 1990s and, after a hiatus, returned three years ago. Tuesday's event started with Gursharan Kahlon, of Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, delivering some sobering statistics.
In 2009-10, more than 440 women used services at the group's two shelters - the Anselma House in Kitchener and the Haven House in Cambridge. More than 2,500 crisis calls were also received.
"All those numbers should be zero," said Kahlon. "I can't believe in 2011 that we're still addressing fighting violence against women."
She said one out of three women aged 16-24 will experience abuse in an intimate situation, so getting the message out to young men is important.
"It's a huge problem," Kahlon said. "We can't fight this battle alone. We need men, whether they're young or old."
Two police officers escorted Tuesday's five-kilometer route that ended back at Victoria Park. About $1,500 was raised for women's shelters in Waterloo Region and Afghanistan.
