About 20 people braved the cold in Westlock last Thursday for a noon-hour vigil to honour victims of domestic violence.
The event was organized by the Hope Resource Centre, which gives victims of abuse a first point of contact in escaping their dangerous situations. Manager Sylvia Yoder said the purpose was very straightforward.
“We’re here to honour the lives lost to violence,” she said.
The vigil began with a traditional Aboriginal smudging ceremony in Georges Whissell Park. Participants then walked to the United Church to hear speakers and enjoy refreshments.
At the front of the church, there were wood cut-out silhouettes set up, which told the often bone-chilling stories of victims of domestic violence.
Unfortunately the main speaker, Lynne Rosychuk, was unable to attend due to a family emergency, but Yoder spoke on her behalf, sharing her story.
Rosychuk is a founder of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation, named for her daughter who was murdered by her husband in front of her children. Her situation was all the more tragic because she had decided to leave her abusive partner, but had nowhere safe to go.
The purpose of the foundation is to help women in the Morinville and Sturgeon County areas to leave their abusive situations, and to ultimately establish a safe house in the area.
“We share her vision, we share her mission, and it’s absolutely empowering to share this with other people,” she said.
Pastor Roger Manuel said he was pleased to be able to offer space within his church, and offered strong words criticizing a culture in which misogyny is so pervasive.
“Our news is always full of misogyny, violence against women, and power differentials,” he said.
Those images have become so pervasive in our culture, he argued, that we almost become desensitized to them — the prevalence of pornography, visual media that objectifies and sexualizes young girls, and even the recent news report of a woman in High Prairie who was murdered by her fiancé after a 911 operator and an RCMP officer did not treat her call for help seriously.
“All these are forms of violence that name women as objects,” he said.
For at least two of the vigil’s participants, the issue of violence against women is one that is deeply personal.
Angela Wells and her mother Sarah Anderson both consider themselves survivors of domestic violence, having both experienced and left abusive relationships.
Anderson said one of the hardest things was finding it in herself to forgive her abuser, the father of her children, and get on with her life.
“I forgave him for that, but it’s for him to take to wherever he’s going,” she said.
Wells said while she got out of her abusive situation, her thoughts are often with those who haven’t been so lucky.
“I just feel so sorry for the women and men out there who are going through this and don’t know where to go,” she said.
Anyone who needs more information about domestic violence and what resources are available to help victims can contact the Hope Resource Centre at 780-349-6111 for free, confidential advice.
