Groups want less talk, more action against domestic violence
Dozens gathered outside Sherbrooke’s city hall Thursday evening to protest the Quebec government’s lack of urgency in addressing domestic violence in the province.
Last week, Nathalie Piché, a 55-year-old woman from Quebec City’s Limoilou neighbourhood, was found unconscious in her apartment, showing signs of violence. She died shortly after being discovered by police. There have been 13 femicides in Quebec since January.
Her partner, 33-yearold Mimouni Noureddine, turned himself in a few hours later. He has been charged with second-degree murder. CALACS Estrie Communications Intervener Kelly Laramée said domestic violence is not slowing down, despite government promises.
“It has been more than six months that an expert committee deposed a report on victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, and the government promised to implement the recommendations, but we still haven’t heard anything about it,” she said.
Laramée was one of the women to give a speech at the protest downtown. She is tired of listening to people talk about femicide. It is not enough to denounce domestic violence, she told The Record. She wants to see concrete measures to fix the problem.
While Laramée believes in the expert report, she wants the government to consider throwing more support at women’s shelters, centres and organizations. She also wants the education sector to put more emphasis on discussing sexual assault and domestic violence.
“I think it is possible to educate people, and that’s where we need to start, with youth prevention and education. If these people don’t know anything about domestic abuse, about how it is problematic, how can we do anything if they aren’t educated about it,” she said.
However, Laramée feels like the resources are not there for organizations. The government ran a few awareness campaigns, she continued, but clearly it was not enough to stop another femicide in Quebec. The province needs to react preemptively, not after the fact, she said.
The citizens’ collective La Bande Féministe (b.a.f.) had several members give speeches during the protest. The group helped put the demonstration together. The Record spoke to two b.a.f. members, who wished to remain anonymous. They prefer to be known as Madeleines.
She was disappointed in the turnout. There were roughly 40 people outside city hall. She expected more support, but they also were not surprised. People avoid talking about domestic violence, Madeleines said, and it often stays in a bubble.
“We talk about it, the ones that are aware talk about it, but the average person doesn’t see it, for whatever reason,” she said. “They aren’t educated about it in schools, we don’t talk about it when we’re young to understand these issues.”
Although many Quebecers rallied to protest in April, after the eighth femicide, Madeleines doubted anything would change in the province. It comes down to financial support and education, she said, and they are fed up of asking for help.
“The governments, we talk about responsibility, they need to recognize that this is systemic, that this is a societal problem,” said Madeleines.
It is not normal for a society to trivialize domestic violence the way it has been in the past, she said. Once people realize it is happening everywhere, in their neighbourhoods, she continued, then they will finally open their eyes and take action. But it needs to happen now.
“We want to talk about it, whether it’s a man, woman, or child, it doesn’t matter […] it’s a societal responsibility, this is also the message, it’s not just on individuals, and it’s definitely not only on the shoulders of women and feminists,” said Madeleines.
She admitted to being a pessimist, but also a realist. If nothing is done to implement the government’s expert report, then this will continue happening at an alarming rate, Madeleines explained. It starts with a conversation, she added, which most people choose to avoid.
“We are living it, but people close themselves off from it because it is easier, it protects them, but who is here to protect us,” Madeleines said.