Londoners gather at rally to remember victims of intimate partner violence

More than 80 Londoners gathered outside city hall Monday afternoon to share their stories and remember victims of intimate partner violence.

The London Voices Against Violence rally was one of more than 10 events across the country with a focus on preventing violence against women and children. 

"It's very terrible that this is happening in our city, but it's happening and we can't turn a blind eye to it," said Lucas Broadfoot, the younger brother of Breanna Broadfoot, who died in a case of intimate partner violence earlier this year. 

"We need to see that it's happening, help share our voices, help share our stories and make sure that victims are heard," Lucas said. 

The event opened with a jingle dress dance by Sierra Jamieson, who explained her dress represents healing. It was followed by speeches and a remembrance "call out" for people affected by intimate partner violence. 

Londoners yelled out the names of people like Breanna Broadfoot, who police say was stabbed by her boyfriend in July, and Cheryl Sheldon, who was killed by her boyfriend just weeks earlier in June. 

Rally attendees included community members, Victim Services of Middlesex-London, police, local councillors and city staff. 

Many people wore purple, a colour used to bring awareness to domestic violence efforts, and brought signs with the names of victims of intimate partner violence. 

'We never thought it would happen'

Some people held signs in memory of Tiffany Gates, a woman who police say was killed by her boyfriend in a murder-suicide last September. Gates's family was critical of police for taking about a year to label the death a murder-suicide, but expressed relief when London Police vowed to be more transparent going forward. 

"We never thought it was going to happen to us, we never thought it would happen to Tiffany," said Shelley Gill, who worked with Gates for over five years.

She and Shelby Telfer, another one of Gates' coworkers, both knew Gates' boyfriend who spent time with their friend group. Both women said the reality of intimate partner violence didn't hit them until Gates' death.

"You see movies about it and you don't realize that this happens every day around you," said Telfer. "When it finally happens to somebody that you're close to, you just feel how real it is and you feel so sad for other people who have gone through it."

Call for change at personal, provincial level

One advocate at the rally held a bright yellow sign with the phrase "protect your daughter" crossed out and replaced with the sentence "educate your son."

It caught the attention of Mayor Josh Morgan, who called for parents to educate their young boys about how they should treat women. 

"We need to make this personal," said Morgan, during his speech at the event. "We cannot allow the dehumanization of our daughters and girls."

Morgan said this starts at home and added he teaches his young sons to respect their sisters.

Lucas said he started learning and talking about intimate partner violence after his sister first told him that she had been hurt by her boyfriend in March.

"That's when I really started talking to her every day about how there's help and how I can help her," Lucas said.

He said it's important for his teenage peers to recognize the signs of abuse, adding that intimate partner violence happens to girls within his age group. 

"Teach yourself, your peers, your friends, everyone that you know in school that it isn't OK to ever hurt a woman, degrade them or be rude," said Lucas. "That leads to other things."

Lucas said he also wants to see change at the provincial level, by holding offenders of intimate partner violence in jail. 

Telfer said she hopes that law enforcement and community members work together to look for signs of abuse in women.

"Look for those signs, look for those girls with bruises," Telfer said. "You can tell when someone's hurting. Faces say it all.

"I just hope that there's change."