Events and News
Event Detail
Walk the Talk to End Violence Against Women & Children
October 26, 2006 to December 31, 2006
, Toronto Ontario
The display is about women and children who have been killed this year in Ontario, as a result of domestic violence. The project involves displaying pairs of shoes on separate podiums, to symbolize each woman and child murdered. A brief story of who the woman was and how she was murdered will be included with each pair of shoes. We are asking community agencies in the Toronto area to participate in the project by donating a pair of woman's (and/or children's) shoes. Feel free to choose whatever kind of shoes you may feel are appropriate (new or lightly used), and/or to decorate the shoes anyway you wish. The project will be launched on December 6th.
This intiative is being developed by the Accountability Committee, one of the standing committees of the Woman Abuse Council of Toronto. The Accountability Committee is composed of volunteers who have experienced abuse and are committed to working toward systemic changes through public education, policy and program development.
We need your help in creating a public awareness & action project. The Accountability Committee has been working on developing a public awareness and action display to use at special events that we are calling "Walk the Talk to End Violence Against Women & Children". The display is about women and children who have been killed this year in Ontario, as a result of domestic violence. The project involves displaying pairs of shoes on separate podiums, to symbolize each woman and child murdered. A brief story of who the woman was and how she was murdered will be included with each pair of shoes. The project is adapted from initiatives done in other communities, related to violence against women or soldiers killed in the line of duty. The goal of the project is to raise awareness and action to end violence against women and children. We hope that this project will be a powerful tool to help people to grasp the incredible number of women and children who are murdered across Ontario each year, and to remind our community that this is an outrage and must be stopped.
We want people to realize that each woman and child murdered is more than an abstract statistic; she was a real person, someone's daughter, granddaughter, grandmother, mother, sister, colleague, friend. There is an urgency for all members of society to address this issue and take action. Information will be provided at the display about what everyone can do on a personal and political level, to end violence against women and children - how we all can "walk the talk".
What you can do to help. We are inviting all community organizations to participate in this project by 'sponsoring' a podium for a woman/family murdered in Ontario since January 2006. Each podium will display a pair of shoes representing the woman/children murdered. We will provide a synopsis for each podium about the woman who was murdered. A small card will be exhibited at each podium, stating what organisation donated the shoes, along with a brief message from the agency about ending violence against woman and children.
In order to be involved, there are 3 things you need to do: 1) Confirm that you would like to participate 2) Donate a pair of woman's (and/or children's) shoes. Feel free to choose whatever kind of shoes you may feel are appropriate (new or lightly used), and/or to decorate the shoes anyway you wish. 3) Write 3 sentences on why ending violence against women is so important, to be displayed along with the shoes. Agencies are welcome to have their staff members, volunteers, clients or women's group to be involved in the project. Upon confirming interest in participating, we will provide you with the name of the woman murdered (and her children if applicable).
Timelines. We plan to launch the project on December 6th, 2006. We are asking you to confirm your interest in participating as soon as possible. One of our committee members will arrange to pick up the shoes and the brief message from your agency on November 16th or 17th, 2006. If you have any further questions about this project, please do not hesitate to contact Margo Kennedy at 416 944-9242, or email
[email protected] or Cindy Fritz at
[email protected] We hope that you will participate and help us to make this project meaningful in the work to end violence against women and children.
Sincerely,
Margo Kennedy & Cindy Fritz
On behalf of the Accountability Committee Woman Abuse Council of Toronto
Contact Information:
Margo Kennedy
[email protected]
(p)416 944-9242
(f)416 944-9753
http://www.womanabuse.ca
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