Local 247 activists step up for women’s rights with shoe memorial

Vancouver – December 6, 2013 – Local 247 activists recently stepped up for women’s rights today by covering the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery with shoes and boots today to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which commemorates the 14 women who were murdered on December 6, 1989 at Montréal's École Polytechnique as the victims of gender-based violence.

In total, more than 700 pairs of shoes were displayed on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery as part of the Shoe Memorial. Each pair had a card next to it with the name of a woman who died as a victim of gender-based violence.

The Shoe Memorial, now in its thirteenth year, is one of many gatherings and memorials across Canada to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which commemorates the 14 women who were murdered on December 6, 1989 at Montréal's École Polytechnique as the victims of gender-based violence.

All shoes and boots were donated to women's emergency shelters in Vancouver; some of which service women and children who have escaped violent households, often with just the clothes on their backs.