Liard Aboriginal Women's Society 
Watson Lake Youth Host Event on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1 st , 2016
Watson Lake Youth Host Event on National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
Local Youth Lead the Way by Planning Commemoration Ceremony at Watson Lake Secondary School
Watson Lake, Yukon: On December 6 th , 2016 at 10:30am, a group of Watson Lake Secondary School students will host the community at a commemoration ceremony on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women. These Youth are taking part in the Youth for Safety project, a three-year Youth empowerment project, initiated by the Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society (LAWS). This program was developed in collaboration with Watson Lake community organisations committed to improving community safety. The project is intended to increase safety of Youth and community members in Watson Lake by helping male and female Youth learn ways of supporting those who experience violence, while also learning new skills to increase community safety.
In the first year of the program, Youth worked on a number of campaigns aimed at raising awareness on the issue of sexualized violence. The Youth are now kicking off the second year of this project by hosting this December 6 th event. As one Youth participant puts it: “Change has to start from our young people”.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is a day commemorated in Canada each December 6, which marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. December 6 represents an opportunity for us to reflect on the broader phenomenon of violence against women in our society. Specifically, the Youth would like to commemorate this tragedy as well as raise awareness on the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
The event will be held in the auditorium of Watson Lake Secondary School and will include a rose ceremony, drumming, singing and lunch. There will be guest speakers from different community organizations as well as some speeches from members of the Youth for Safety project. The Youth hope that this event, as well as the other Youth for Safety campaigns will help start a community conversation about sexualized violence and inspire community members to take action. As one of the Youth involved puts it: “Hopefully the community will be more open about this thing, be able to talk about it more, be comfortable in those situations so we can finally help put an end to it”.
For more information contact:
Ann Maje Raider, Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society,