Cathy McIlmurray is a volunteer board director for the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton as she thinks the County needs more representation with the HERS SafeSpace within its borders.
At Sept. 19’s second annual Take Back the Night march in Minden, she was pleased to see parents had brought children along. She had also put up posters at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School to raise awareness.
“You have to start with the youth to change people’s minds and change people’s attitudes,” the West Guilford resident said.
She added there is a women’s and children’s shelter in the County, so “don’t be afraid to step forward if you have a friend that needs a hand, help them, hold their hand, and guide them towards a better life.”
Director of philanthropy for the YWCA, Tyna Thornton, addressed a crowd gathered on the grass of Canadian Tire last Thursday night.
“Your presence tonight is having an impact… taking a stand against physical and sexual violence that is happening right here in our communities. I would love to stand here before you and say that intimate partner violence is slowing. I’d prefer to tell you that domestic violence is no longer a concern, but that’s simply not the case. We know that intimate partner violence is still a very serious epidemic in our communities, both urban and rural,” she said.
“We also know the challenges faced by women living in more rural regions. When they’re experiencing domestic violence, it’s certainly trickier for them to leave the situation. A woman living in a rural area is far more likely to stay in a life-threatening abusive situation over her urban sisters. They’re generally more isolated with less access to social service supports necessary for regaining personal independence. This has, and will continue to be, further impacted by the housing crisis,” she added.
Executive director of the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre in Peterborough, Brittany McMillan, said it was a really important event to create awareness. She noted their services extend to Haliburton County. She said statistically, one in three women, one half of transgender/gender diverse and one sixth of men are victims.
“This continues to be the statistic year after year, regardless of the amount of Take Back the Nights we do. I really encourage folks to start talking about this stuff. We do a lot of prevention and education, as well as the team from the Y, making sure our young kids, young boys, need to respect women. The narrative has always been women need to figure out how to protect themselves, but we do need to shift that into teaching men and boys to not harm women.”
Thornton sent marchers off with the words, “I truly believe that together we are powerful. Together, we can make a difference, and together we can make a movement of change. Together, we can make the world a safer place for future generations.”
