Women's Memorial March remembers Downtown Eastside victims of violence (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
Hundreds gathered on the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on Tuesday to honour the lives of missing and murdered indigenous women in the 27th annual Women’s Memorial March.
The march started in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Vancouver’s Powell Street.
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Since then, the march has grown into an annual event which takes place every Valentine’s Day.
The event began at the intersection of Main and Hastings streets and proceeded to stops where women were last seen or found.
In 2016, the Government of Canada announced an independent national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, which is expected to take two years to complete. However, march organizers say work remains to be done to protect the lives of indigenous women.
“Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the Downtown Eastside still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss,” said the Women’s Memorial March Committee in a release.
“Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered with minimal action to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.”
Remembering our missing and murdered Indigenous sisters; recognizing the injustice faced by women in the #DTES. #WomensMemorialMarch #MMIW pic.twitter.com/KJV8Wsnqou
— Bronwyn McBride (@bronwynmcbride) February 14, 2017
Honouring our sisters #dtes #WomensMemorialMarch pic.twitter.com/xysdWRFuc1
— S Skidmore (@SussanneS) February 14, 2017
Wonderful song to start off the #WomensMemorialMarch Honoured to represent @VESTA39 #SocialJustice Committee @bctf #WomenWarriorsSong pic.twitter.com/Fl3o73IfEM
— Ms Ong (@msongelaine) February 14, 2017
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