By Spencer Sterritt

‘It’s an epidemic’: Nanaimo support groups speak up about violence against women

Nov 24, 2017 | 4:46 PM

NANAIMO —  This year, support groups in Nanaimo want women to know they’re not alone when they stand up to violence.

The Nanaimo Women’s Action Committee, a collection of service and resource groups for women, came together Friday afternoon to launch the 16 Days of Activism campaign. It’s a United Nations initiative directly tackling violence against women across the world.

“Every six days in Canada, a woman dies at the hands of an intimate partner,” Anne Taylor, executive director of Haven Society, told NanaimoNewsNOW. “It’s really a serious issue and that’s what the 16 days of Activism is really all about.”

This year, blankets, shirts and dresses are hung outside shelters and support centres in Nanaimo, such as Haven House, Samaritan House and the Nanaimo Women’s Resource Centre, emblazoned with messages of hope and strength for women.

Taylor said they were looking for a way to promote women speaking out about any abuse they suffered and for everyone to recognize violence against women is wrong.

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“When people are experiencing violence, there’s all kinds of reasons they’ll be silenced. There’s a lot of societal ways we silence, the idea that you should keep things private at home, that you shouldn’t talk about these things out loud. So we really want people to know that not only should you talk about it, we really want you to because if we’re not, then we’re not going to stop it.”

Taylor and other supports said their services are needed more and more each day.

“It’s an epidemic and we’re not making a lot of headway in shifting it,” Taylor said. “We want (women) to feel safe enough to be able to reach out and get the support they need.”

From Friday, Nov. 24 to Dec. 10, there will be numerous events in Nanaimo promoting 16 Days of Activism, including a march and vigil for the women gunned down in the Montreal Massacre at VIU’s Nanaimo campus.

A full list can be found online.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit