The Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women is coordinating the 9th Annual PEI Purple Ribbon Campaign Against Violence. The campaign commemorates the 14 women who died in the Montreal Massacre on December 6, 1989, and raises awareness about violence against women and children in PEI.
Once again, the Advisory Council has expanded this year's campaign through the support of the Premier's Action Committee on Family Violence Prevention, distributing 8,000 purple ribbons to Islanders, including 3,000 to Island civil servants.
"The statistics on family violence should alarm us all. The personal, social and economic costs to our Island cannot be ignored. Today, we rise together in unison to name this crime within our Island families and communities, and in this action we are committing to work everyday to end this violence which robs our Island of its greatest resource: its people," says Premier Pat Binns.
Islanders are urged to wear a purple ribbon during the week up to December 6 to help raise the level of awareness of acts of violence, perpetrated against women and children, not only in PEI but throughout the world.
"In every sitting legislature across this country today, a joint declaration by the Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women urges men and women to take a stand to end violence against women in all its forms," states Minister Pat Mella. "It is important to realize that it will take the efforts of all of us to make a difference."
The Advisory Council asks that Islanders not only wear the purple ribbons but also make a donation to an organization in their community that is working to end violence against women and children.
"The memory of the 14 women who died during the Montreal Massacre serves as a constant reminder of the horror of violence that so many women and children endure on a daily basis," says Sharon O'Brien, Chairperson of the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. "We need to acknowledge the violence that is happening in our own communities and take a stand against it."
In PEI, between April 1997 and March 1998, a total of 768 women and children used support services through Transition House Association (THA) – 129 accessed THA support services in East Prince; 118 in West Prince; 229 in Eastern PEI; 178 at Anderson House in Charlottetown; and 114 for Queen's County Outreach.
"The Advisory Council sees that there is still much work to be done to end violence against women and children," says O'Brien. "The campaign theme is: 'First mourn, then work for change.'"
The ribbons are available at the PEI Advisory Council office, Women's Network PEI, the UPEI Women's Centre, L'Association des Acadiennes in Wellington, East Prince Women's Information Centre in Summerside and at local Regional Services centres.
The Purple Ribbon Campaign first began to commemorate the 14 women who were murdered at L'École Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989. They were murdered because they were women.
For more information, contact Heidi Rankin, PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, (902) 368-4510.