On Friday afternoon, a small crowd gathered around a monument in Perth dedicated to the memory of murdered Lanark County women who have died since 1994.
The installation features a pile of rose quartz stones resting on a large flat rock. It is located near the Little Tay River in the Tay Basin.
Kat Watson spear-headed the project – over two years in the making. Watson, herself a survivor of abuse, told Lake 88 News, it was important to build the monument to make the issue a public one. “Every day I would see more and more females suffering from violence and it was time to make it a public issue and also to have a place to gather, show inclusion to other survivors and make it a topic for the community.”
The monument was unveiled as part of the National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women. The group remembered the 14 young women who were murdered at l’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989 and the three women who were recently murdered in the Wilno area.
Costs of the monument were covered through fundraising and community donations.
Erin Lee-Todd executive director of Lanark Interval House, called on the crowd to take action on violence against women and keep it at the top of their agendas. “Say no, loudly to violence in any form,” she said.
She thanked Perth Mayor John Fenik and Perth Council for being steadfastly behind the project. Maureen Pegg – Lake 88 News – Perth
