The Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women will be launching their 10th Annual Purple Ribbon Campaign Against Violence on Tuesday, October 30 during the final community vigil at the Charlottetown Supreme Court House on Water Street. The Purple Ribbon Campaign is an Advisory Council initiative that commemorates the 14 women who died in the Montreal Massacre on December 6th, 1989 as well as raises awareness about violence against women and children on PEI.
The Advisory Council asks that Islanders wear the purple ribbons during the weeks leading up to December 6th, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This helps raise the level of awareness of acts of violence, perpetrated against women and children, not only on PEI but throughout the world.
Honourable Patricia Mella, Provincial Treasurer and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, endorses the annual campaign, "I hope that all Islanders will wear these ribbons to acknowledge the tragic costs of violence against women and to symbolize their commitment to preventing violence."
"The Purple Ribbon Campaign has taken on a more visible role this year in response to the tragic deaths of Island women who died as a result of domestic violence," says Patricia Roy, Chairperson of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "As Islanders collectively and individually mourned their deaths, the purple ribbon served as a visible symbol of our pain and sorrow for these needless deaths and our commitment to change."
In PEI between April 2000 and March 2001, statistics show that a total of 1,372 women and children used support services through the Transition House Association (THA). Of these, 397 accessed THA support in East Prince; 285 in West Prince; 300 in Eastern PEI; 134 at Anderson House in Charlottetown and 256 for Queen's County Outreach. There were also 7,112 calls for service.
"We must combat and end the perception that violence against women is a private issue," says Roy. "I encourage all Islanders to participate in the consultations on family violence prevention that will be taking place in Island communities throughout the month of November. It's only by coming together that positive and effective solutions can be found to end violence against women and children."
"The PEI Advisory Council will be expanding the campaign from 10,000 ribbons distributed last year to distributing over 20,000 ribbons to Islanders in 2001," states Roy. "We encourage everyone to take part in the last community vigil being held on Tuesday, as well as wear a purple ribbon and participate in the community consultations."
The ribbons are available at the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women office, Women's Network PEI, the UPEI Women's Centre, L'Association des femmes acadiennes et francophones de l'lle-du-Prince-Edouard, East Prince Women's Information Centre in Summerside and at Access PEI Centres across the Island.