Quick EscapeImagine waking up to the shrill sound of the alarm on your phone, alerting you that a child has been abducted. You might feel distress, sadness and even helplessness at the thought of a child being in imminent danger. And just as you comfort yourself into thinking she will be found in time, you learn she was murdered by someone she trusted.
On this 10th anniversary of Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, we ask you to walk for the girls who live in fear of the very people expected to protect them. Among females in Canada, homicide rates are highest for girls 11 years of age and younger, according to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. The shock of a child’s murder resonates throughout our community and beyond in part because we all know women and children who might silently be living in fear for their lives. Because it could be our friend, our neighbour.
And last year, 148 women were murdered in Canada. That means one woman was murdered every 2.5 days in this country.
A woman who feels unsafe in her home is often faced with the impossible choice of continuing to live in violence or living on the street. In fact, Statistics Canada reports that the primary reason a woman and her children may seek emergency shelter is to escape violence. Every night in this city, between 300-400 women experience homelessness, which can take the form of crashing on a friend’s couch, sleeping in cars, getting into other bad relationships to avoid sleeping outside, or sleeping outside. Every night across this country, women and children are turned away from emergency shelters due to a lack of space.
The deaths of women and girls in our community can be prevented. Walk with us on June 18 to help end the cycle of violence and homelessness. Walk with us to help raise awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women and girls. Walk with us to support survivors.