Annual campaign shining light on male violence against women kicks off at Victoria Park

The London Abused Women's Centre (LAWC) kicked off its 13th annual 'Shine the light on woman abuse' campaign at Victoria Park on Tuesday evening. 

The event started with the lighting of a 'tree of hope' in the colour purple to raise awareness of male violence against women. The tree will remain lit throughout the month of November. 

"The goals of the campaign are really to shift the blame that women feel on themselves to the shoulders of the perpetrators of abuse and to show them that they're not alone," said LAWC executive director Jennifer Dunn. 

The campaign, which started as a grassroots effort by LAWC in 2010, grew to become internationally recognized. According to the Canadian Women's Foundation, in 2021, 173 women and girls were killed by male violence.

Every year it focuses on two honourees who are either survivors, or had their lives ended by male violence. This year's honourees are Jennifer Kagan and her 4-year-old daughter, Keira who died at the hands of her father Robin Brown in an alleged act of revenge filicide—the killing of one's child— in 2021.

"It's important to have a conversation," Dunn said. "Women should know there's hope and support out there for them and so we encourage people to wear purple and show their support." 

Remembering women as more than just victims

Shine the Light also honours 'Silent witnesses' in the forms of silhouettes. Each one has the name of a woman who was killed engraved on the chest with a message from their loved ones stating how they would like them to be remembered, said coordinator Fabienne Haller.

"They'll describe if the person loved their pets, or their favourite colour, or what did they enjoy in life," she said.

"We want to remember these women by all the beautiful things they contributed to life and the community, and not talk about the male who decided to cut their lives short."

Haller says it's important to remember the women as more than just victims because they all had hopes and dreams for their lives.

For Haller, a story that stands out is of teen sisters Stephanie and Ashley Haubs who were killed in a double murder-suicide by their father John in 2006. She worked closely with their mother, who lives to share their stories.

"Although I never met those two girls, I feel like I know them," she said. The lessons I've learned from survivors are invaluable and it's a privilege to be able to amplify that voice."

"The femicide numbers across Canada have grown through the pandemic. It's an important issue that still echoes for a lot of families," she said.

Tuesday's event saw familiar faces including city councillors, Mayor-elect Josh Morgan, and Liberal MP for London West Arielle Kayabaga, among others.

Kayabaga says organizations working to support women also need more resources. She's found that many people doing this kind of work are burned out because of high case volumes, she said. Kayabaga is pushing for more support for women's organizations on a nationwide level.

"Is it sad that we need to invest more money into this kind of work? Yes, because that means there's still so much more work to be done, but the people who devote themselves to this job should be properly supported," she said. 

Haller says she's seen a very positive change in the types of conversations happening around violence against women in all the years the campaign has run. 

"Our community here in London is a lot more open to having these conversations and willing to learn about the different aspects of women abuse...this is what gives me hope for the future."