Annual Women’s Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women

WHAT: 22nd Annual Women’s Memorial March Press Conference
WHEN: Thursday Feb 14th at 9:00 am
WHERE: Carnegie classroom, 3rd floor, Main and Hastings

MEDIA PROTOCOL: Please note there will be NO MEDIA in Carnegie Theatre during the family remembrance between 11am to noon. Media may record the march at noon, except no recording of ceremonies during the march.

February 8, 2013 VANCOUVER, Coast Salish Territories- The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honour the memory of women from the Downtown Eastside who have died due to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual violence. Now in its 22nd year, the march brings courage and commitment to remember and honour murdered and missing women, and to end the violence that vulnerable women in the DTES face on a daily basis.

“We are here to honour and remember the women, and we are here because we are failing to protect women from poverty and systemic exploitation, abuse and violence. We are here in sorrow and in anger because the violence continues each and every day and the list of missing and murdered women gets longer every year,” says Marlene George, Memorial March Committee organizer.

In December 2011, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women announced that it was launching an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. This announcement came shortly after the Women’s Memorial March Committee and the Downtown Eastside Women’s Center made joint submissions in October 2011 to the UN.

This year, the Women’s Memorial March occurs in the context of the provincial missing women’s inquiry, which marginalized the voices and experiences of DTES residents, Indigenous communities, and women’s groups. In December 2012, the international organization Human Rights Watch called on Canada to appoint a national commission of inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“We are calling for a national public inquiry and continue to seek justice internationally with our submissions at the level of the UN,” continues George.

Marches will also be held in at least fifteen other cities including Edmonton, Calgary, Hagersville, Kelowna, Lebret, Montreal, Oshawa, Ottawa, Prince George, Regina, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Sault St Marie, Victoria, Winnipeg. In Vancouver, friends and family members led by Indigenous women move through the DTES and stop at sites where women died or were last seen to offer prayers, medicines, and roses in remembrance.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Marlene George: 778 833 3094
Mona Woodward 778 241 8440
Lisa Yellow Quill 604 618 1061
Cori Kelly (French) 778 709 6494
For general media inquiries, contact Harsha Walia 778 885 0040

Website: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

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FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/488831777821558/
Web: https://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/22nd-annual-feb-14th-womens-memorial-march/

THURSDAY FEB 14TH 2013
March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings)

* Please NOTE that this year the march starts one hour earlier *

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. Twenty two years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women.

On Thursday Feb 14th 2013, we will gather at 11 am at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at noon, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the court house; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 2:30 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall.

Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. This year, the Women’s Memorial March occurs in the context of the provincial missing women’s inquiry, which marginalized the voices and experiences of DTES residents, Indigenous communities, and women’s groups. Women continue to go missing or be murdered with no action from any level of government to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism. We are calling for a national public inquiry and continue to seek justice internationally with submissions at the level of the UN.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately ten other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at marlene.george@vancouver.ca and hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) If you want to help volunteer (setup, cleanup, serving food etc) on the day of and can commit to 2-hour shifts between 8 am and 6 pm, please email hwalia8@gmail.com

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Phone: 604 665 3005
Email: marlene.george@vancouver.ca (Committee Chair Marlene George)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945 or search “FEBRUARY 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH DTES VANCOUVER”

———————————
Monday December 17th from 8:30 am till 2 pm
In the courtyard between the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Delta Vancouver Suites.
(courtyard on Seymour Street between 550 and 580 West Hastings)
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories
Bring drums and candles.
——————————–

Come support family members – many of whom were initially denied travel assistance – who have only a few hours to review the report before it is made public.

The Missing Women’s Inquiry has been a sham inquiry since the beginning – the voices and experiences of DTES residents, Aboriginal organizations, and womens groups were shut out, family members needs and wishes have been and continue to be blatantly disregarded and disrespected, and the proceedings overly favoured and protected the police and police evidence. Even the Independent Counsel for Aboriginal Interests, appointed by the Commission itself, withdrew from the proceedings.

This sham inquiry has continued the marginalization of those whom it was supposed to serve: women, particularly Indigenous women, from the DTES. Women in the DTES and Indigenous women across these lands continue to go missing or be murdered as a result of gendered violence, poverty, racism, and colonialism.

The BC Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry has been a disgrace, a betrayal, and a systemic failure. We affirm our support for family members and affected communities and reaffirm the call for full national inquiry as well as an independent international inquiry.

Justice for Missing and Murdered Women in the Downtown Eastside:
Their Spirits Live Within Us

WHAT: Monday February 13th from 9:30 am to 2 pm
Murdered Women, Missing Justice
Rally against Sham Provincial Missing Women’s Inquiry 701 West Georgia (Georgia and Granville)

WHAT: Tuesday February 14th
21st Annual Women’s Memorial March
Press Conference on Tues Feb 14th at 10:30 am in Carnegie Patio
Please note there will be NO MEDIA in Carnegie Theatre during the family remembrance between noon-1 pm. Media may record the march at 1 pm, except no recording of ceremonies during the march.

February 10, 2012 VANCOUVER, Coast Salish Territories- The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honour the memory of women from Downtown Eastside who have died due to the violence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse. Now in its 21st year, the March is an immensely powerful women’s action that brings courage and commitment to remember and honour murdered and missing women, and to end the violence that vulnerable women in the DTES face on a daily basis.

“We are here to honour and remember the women, and we are here because we are failing to protect women from the degradation of poverty and systemic exploitation, abuse and violence. We are here in sorrow and in anger because the violence continues each and every day and the list of missing and murdered women gets longer every year,” says Marlene George, Memorial March Committee organizer.

This year, the Annual Women’s Memorial March will be preceded by a rally on Monday February 13th at Georgia and Granville against the Sham provincial missing women’s inquiry headed by Wally Oppall. Says George “We are boycotting this Sham Inquiry because we have been shut out from it and it has continued to marginalize the voices and experiences of women from the DTES. Women continue to go missing or be murdered with no action from any level of government to address these tragedies or gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism.”

The Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee and DTES Women’s Centre have recently made submissions under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and are now seeking justice internationally. The organizations formally submitted that “The Commission continues the pattern of grave and systemic discrimination against women in the Downtown Eastside which the Commission was supposed to investigate.”

Marches will also be held in at least twelve other cities including Victoria, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Penticton, Calgary, Kelowna, Merritt, Thunder bay, and London. In Vancouver, friends and family members led by Indigenous women move through the DTES and stop at sites where women died or were last seen. At these sites, women offer prayers, medicines, ceremonies, and lay roses in remembrance.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Marlene George: 604-665-3005, Carol Martin 778 322 3069, Lisa Yellow-Quill 604 618 1061, Mona Woodward 604-697-5662, Stella August 604 833 8516, Corinthia Kelly: 778 709 6494 (French) Website: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

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TWO EVENTS: MON FEB 13TH and TUES FEB 14TH

Murdered Women, Missing Justice
Monday February 13th from 9:30 am till 2 pm.
Rally outside Sham Inquiry 701 West Georgia (Georgia and Granville)

Every week since the beginning of the Sham Missing Women’s Inquiry, the Women’s Memorial March Committee has been rallying to denounce the disrespect and injustice happening inside. Dozens of DTES, Aboriginal, and Women’s organizations were shut out from participating in the Inquiry. Now we are hearing numerous stories, directly and as reported in the media, of family members outrage and anger and frustration with this inquiry as there are no answers, no apologies, and authorities are just protecting themselves and each other. We invite you all to join us – for five minutes or five hours – on Monday Feb 13th to show your disgust at this coverup sham inquiry and to call instead for for a new fair, just, and inclusive Inquiry that centres the voices and experiences and leadership of women, particularly Indigenous women, in the DTES.

See Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Women’s Memorial March Committee Statement of Non Participation In Sham Inquiry from Oct 2011:
http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/non-participation-sham-inquiry/

followed on Tuesday by…

21st Annual Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March

Web link: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/236552276421022/
Download poster and distribute it here

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of this sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine’s Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Unceded Coast Salish Territories. Twenty one years later, the women’s memorial march continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women.

On Tuesday Feb 14th 2012, we will gather at noon at the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main Street (corner Hastings, Vancouver) where family members speak in remembrance. Given space constraints, we ask the broader public to join us at 1 pm, when the march takes to the streets and proceeds through the Downtown Eastside, with stops to commemorate where women were last seen or found; speeches by community activists at the police station; a healing circle at Oppenheimer Park around 3 pm; and finally a community feast at the Japanese Language Hall. Thank you to Buffalo Spirit for the big drum.

Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Over 3000 women are known to have gone missing or been murdered in Canada since the 1970s, and annual women’s memorial marches now occur in dozens of communities across these lands.

This year, the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March occurs in the context of the Sham provincial missing women’s inquiry headed by Wally Oppall, which we are boycotting because we have been shut out from it and it has continued to marginalize the voices and experiences of women from the DTES. Women continue to go missing or be murdered with no action from any level of government to address these tragedies or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty, racism, or colonialism. The Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee and DTES Women’s Centre have recently made submissions under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and are now seeking justice internationally.

This event is organized and led by women in the DTES because women – especially Indigenous women – face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice.

* SUPPORT THE WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH

There are many ways to support the Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March:

1) Spread the word and join us (all genders welcome) to the Feb 14th march. We respectfully ask that you please do not bring your banners, flags, or leaflets as the Women’s Memorial March carries five banners only to honour the women.

2) Plan a memorial march in your community. Last year, memorial marches were held in approximately ten other cities and communities. If you are organizing a memorial march please email us the details at marlene.george@vancouver.ca and hwalia8@gmail.com so we can maintain communication, compile the information on our website, and build strength in our coordinated efforts.

3) Please donate. The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is made possible by organizations and individuals like you. Each year the Memorial March committee must raise funds to pay for such things as hall rental, sound system, food, red & yellow roses, memorial brochures, blankets, posters, candles, tobacco and other expenses. Please make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and include Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March on the memo line. Mail cheques to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J1. All donations over $10 will be gratefully acknowledged with a tax deductible receipt.

Thank you all for your support and commitment,
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee

Website: http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/
Phone: 604 665 3005
Email: marlene.george@vancouver.ca (Committee Chair Marlene George)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=264380380945 or search “FEBRUARY 14 WOMEN’S MEMORIAL MARCH DTES VANCOUVER”

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS RELEASE UN SUBMISSION DETAILS;
Submission includes urgent appeal about discriminatory conduct of BC Missing Women’s Inquiry

December 14, 2011 Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories– In the past twenty four hours, the positive and much-awaited news has been released that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women initiated a significant official inquiry process into the murders and disappearances of women and girls across Canada in October 2011.

Two women’s groups based in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, a neighbourhood known as the ‘ground zero’ for missing and murdered women, who are mostly Indigenous women, are releasing details of the submissions they made in October 2011 under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

According to Carol Martin who is Nisga’a, a victim services worker at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and member of the February 14^th Women’s Memorial March Committee: “All levels of government have failed to understand or take action on those systemic injustices that allowed the unimaginable deaths and disappearances of so many women, disproportionately Indigenous, from the Downtown Eastside for decades. This is why we decided to make our voices heard at the international level.”

The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) and February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee (WMMC) have been rooted in the Downtown Eastside for the past thirty years and have been raising issues of discrimination based on gender and race, a legacy of colonialism, institutional discrimination, economic marginalization, and the enabling environment for violence against women in Canada’s poorest postal code.

In October 2011 the two organizations made submissions to UN CEDAW in light of the failure of the provincial Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry. The organizations formally submitted that “The Commission continues the pattern of grave and systemic discrimination against women in the Downtown Eastside which the Commission was supposed to investigate.”

The UN CEDAW Committee has already repeatedly recommended that Canada engage in comprehensive investigation, analysis, and action on the issue of missing and murdered women, especially Indigenous women. But dozens of women’s, DTES, and Indigenous groups have refused to endorse or participate in the provincial government’s current Sham Inquiry. The clear failure of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry demonstrates the critical and urgent need for the international community to take on this task.

Say Marlene George and Lisa Yellow Quill “We as, Aboriginal Women are not just over-represented amongst missing and murdered women. For too long Aboriginal women and girls have been bearing the brunt of all extreme forms of violence while politicians, authorities, and others – even women’s groups – continue to grandstand on this issue. The numbers of murdered and missing women has far exceeded the ‘official’ count of 600 women. The time has now presented itself for a more global look at the ongoing tragedy of Canada’s murdered and missing women. We have inherited a horrendously violent legacy from the colonization of this continent and this country, founded on the creation of hate for Aboriginal women and everything our power and resistance represents.”

The groups also argue that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination stipulate particular guarantees, rights, and freedoms for Indigenous women who are over-represented among missing and murdered women.

“We as Aboriginal women want to know will the Canadian government dismiss or welcome the UN Committee and it’s inquiry? Minister Ambrose has already given contradictory and duplicitous statements attempting to undermine the significance of this issue. We are sick and tired of Canada portraying itself as a champion of human rights given the ongoing legacy of theft of land and resources, impoverishment, and attempted assimilation of Indigenous nations, which is one of the root causes of the displacement of our women,” says Laura Holland from the Wet’suwet’en and Aboriginal Women’s Action Network.

The two organizations are seeking a series of remedies from the UN CEDAW Committee, including the following:

- A UN CEDAW inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered women in the Downtown Eastside which includes a country visit to Canada and specifically to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for a meeting with women residents of the DTES.

- Urging the Committee to outline the downfalls of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry and to clarify that the proceedings of this Commission do not meet the recommendations set out by the Committee in regard to missing and murdered women investigations.

The UN submissions of the DEWC and WMMC were formally supported with letters to the UN by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, PIVOT Legal Society, BC Civil Liberties Association, West Coast LEAF, PACE, WISH, Ending Violence Association, Native Youth Sexual Health Network, and the DTES Neighbourhood Council.

“We have been a witness to the provincial government and federal government’s gross and unconscionable negligence as well as racism and sexism in investigating disappearances and murders of our women. This is representative of the legacy of discrimination, racism, sexism, and colonialism that leads to these tragedies in the first place. We hope that we can attain justice at the international level as we keep educating and mobilizing at the grassroots with all our other front-line groups and communities,” the groups state.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Marlene George: 604 665 3005; Corinthia Kelly: 778 709 6494; Alice Kendall: 778 322 4594; Harsha Walia: 778 885 0040; Lisa Yellow Quill 604 618 1061;  Mona Woodward 604-697-5662

The DEWC, established in 1978, exists to support and empower women and children living in extreme poverty in the DTES of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. The Centre is unique, in that it is one of the only safe spaces within the Downtown Eastside specifically and exclusively for women and their children.  It provides practical support to over 300 women and children on a daily basis. The DEWC is also committed to long term systemic change of the realities of poverty, racism, colonization, violence against women, addictions, disability, child apprehension, policing, and more which marks the lives of the women who access our space and services. Many of the women who have gone missing, have been murdered, or are survivors of violence in the DTES have been members of the DEWC.

The February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee was founded in 1992 when a woman was found murdered on Powell Street. Since then, over the past 20 years, the Committee has organized for justice for missing and murdered women and raised local, national, and international attention on the issue. An annual march on February 14th is led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing also increases and we are committed to justice.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Corinthia Kelly: 778 709 6494
Alice Kendall: 778 322 4594
Harsha Walia: 778 885 0040
Carol Martin: 778 322 3069

Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Women’s Memorial March Committee Announce Non Participation In Sham Inquiry, Say Will Rally on First Day of Hearings

Monday October 3, Vancouver Coast Salish Territories –Calling the Missing Women’s Commission of Inquiry a “disgrace” and an “insult to women in the Downtown Eastside”, the Coalition of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) and Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee (WMMC) have announced today that they will not be endorsing or participating in the Inquiry.

The Coalition is also announcing a rally at the beginning of the hearings on October 11th, 2011 at 9:30 am in front of at 701 West Georgia. They will be denouncing the Sham Inquiry and will call for a new fair, just, and inclusive Inquiry that centres the voices and experiences and leadership of women, particularly Indigenous women, in the DTES.

“This inquiry has a responsibility to highlight those systemic injustices that allowed the unimaginable deaths and disappearances of so many women from the Downtown Eastside. We have been raising awareness on this issue for over twenty years and demanding an Inquiry for decades, but this Sham Inquiry is flawed and unjust. We cannot endorse it. ” states Carol Martin, victim services worker at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.

The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre made the decision to no longer participate in the Sham Inquiry following discussion and votes by its members who are residents of the DTES. “We are sick of this. This Inquiry was supposed to be about a measure of justice for us and the hope that things would change down here, but it is just more of the same injustices,” says Beatrice Starr, who has resided in the Downtown Eastside for 30 years and whose sister and niece were both murdered.

Diane Wood, a member of the Women’s Memorial March Committee says: “We have essentially been shut out from this Sham Inquiry that is actually supposed to be about us and our experiences. It is vital to this Inquiry that the voices of women and the community be front and centre when determining its recommendations. Without a commitment to the participation of women from the Downtown Eastside, the Inquiry is not legitimate and has no credibility.”

According to Lisa Yellow-Quill of the Women’s Memorial March Commitee “We were witness to the system’s gross negligence as well as racism and sexism in investigating these disappearances and murders. It is unconscionable that Christy Clark, Barry Penner, Shirley Bond and the BC Government are demonstrating those same dismissive and discriminatory attitudes today. We want and continue to be committed to a just Inquiry, not a Sham Inquiry.”

States Harsha Walia of the Downtown Eastside Womens’ Centre “It is disgusting that the Vancouver Police Department and the Government of Canada – who are the ones on trial here – will have an army of publically-funded lawyers to defend themselves. Women in the DTES have their own voices and critical information to share, but this Sham Inquiry has shut those voices out and maintained the status-quo of inequality.  This is representative of the very legacy of discrimination, racism, sexism, and colonialism that this Inquiry is supposed to interrogate. We have no faith that anyone or any institution will be held responsible for the deaths and disappearances of women from the DTES

REASONS FOR NON-PARTICIPATION:

The DEWC and WMMC were granted full standing to participate in the evidentiary hearings. In a letter to the Commission, they list the following reasons for their recent decision to not participate in the Sham Inquiry:

- The Commission has created an adversarial structure, which forces women in the Downtown Eastside to rely on lawyers to defend them from rigorous cross examination. This is also highly objectionable as it revictimizes and traumatizes survivors of violence in an Inquiry that provides no support or protection for them.

- Despite creating an inaccessible and cumbersome process that requires lawyers, the BC government has unjustly decided to not grant the resources necessary for legal counsel or support services to ensure that women in the DTES can meaningfully participate in the Missing Women’s Inquiry.  As written in a letter from legal experts in Ontario “The refusal of the Attorney General to fund parties to the Inquiry will result in an unfair and discriminatory hearing process.” Letter in full available here: http://is.gd/3qZUP1

- There is a total disregard for vulnerable witnesses. An application for procedural protection of vulnerable witnesses, including the opportunity to testify through anonymous affidavits, has been opposed by the VPD.  Without anonymity and confidentiality, witnesses will face real or perceived reprisals from the police.

- The police – the VPD, RCMP, and the Police Union – are over-protected in this Inquiry.  The police are armed with well-paid legal teams, embedded police experts from the Peel Division are reviewing legal documents which we have not even seen, and individual police officers are being granted standing in this Inquiry.

- The Commission has not been transparent or fair in its handling of the Inquiry. We object to a series of decisions including the retention of Peel Police as experts to review legal documents, the terms of the disclosure agreement between the Commission and the police, and the withholding of witnesses lists.

- We are boycotting the amicus proposal because it shows an utter lack of respect for the multi-dimensional experiences of those women who are directly impacted in the DTES by suggesting that one or two lawyers will “represent” all of us.  Letter in full available here: http://is.gd/G9L9A1

- The Study commission is not a replacement for full and meaningful participation in the Inquiry. The Study Commission is not an evidentiary hearing; therefore we will not be able to review evidence and cross examine witnesses. At best, the Study Commission will produce yet another report about systemic injustice in the DTES without anyone being held responsible and with no systemic change. Without participation in the evidentiary hearings of the Inquiry, the Study Commission is toothless and we do not endorse it.

The DEWC, established in 1978, exists to support and empower women and children living in extreme poverty in the DTES of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. The Centre is unique, in that it is one of the only safe spaces within the Downtown Eastside specifically and exclusively for women and their children.  It provides practical support to over 300 women and children on a daily basis. The DEWC are also committed to long term systemic change of the realities of poverty, racism, colonization, violence against women, addictions, disability, child apprehension, policing, and more which marks the lives of the women who access our space and services. Many of the women who have gone missing, have been murdered, or are survivors of violence in the DTES have been members of the DEWC.

The February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee was founded in 1992 when a woman was found murdered on Powell Street. Since then, over the past 20 years, the Committee has organized for justice for missing and murdered women and raised local, national, and international attention on the issue. An annual march on February 14th is led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing also increases and we are committed to justice.

March begins at 4 pm at Victory Square (Cambie and Hastings)
If you are joining us around 5-5:30 pm, find us near Main and Hastings.
We will be ending with a ceremony at Oppenheimer Park.

October 4 is a National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. It is a national day of remembrance, respect, and demands for action. In the DTES, increasing deaths of many vulnerable women – overwhelmingly Indigenous women – still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing or been murdered also increases, most recently with the tragic death of our community member Verna Simard.

We will be marching to demand action on women’s safety. Despite a number of reported sexual assaults and lack of firm commitment to women and youth in one particular church-based DTES shelter, there has been a deafening silence by all levels of government and many organizations. We want safety for women – safety for women from sexual, emotional, mental, and physical violence as well as safety from the daily indignities of poverty.

This is short notice but we hope you will join us
- Women’s Memorial March Committee

Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Women’s Memorial March Committee Object to Missing Women’s Commission’s Latest Amicus Proposal

August 5^th 2011  Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories – The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and Feb 14^th Women’s Memorial March Committee strongly object to the Missing Women’s Commission latest proposal to retain and fund one or two independent lawyers (amici) to “present the perspectives of the Downtown Eastside community and Aboriginal women.”

The DEWC, established in 1978, exists to support and empower women and children living in extreme poverty in the DTES of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. The Centre is unique, in that it is one of the only safe spaces within the Downtown Eastside specifically and exclusively for women and their children. We provide practical support to over 300 women and children on a daily basis. We are also committed to long term systemic change of the realities of poverty, racism, colonization, violence against women, addictions, disability, child apprehension, policing, and more which marks the lives of the women who access our space and services. Many of the women who have gone missing or have been murdered were members of the DEWC.

The February 14^th Women’s Memorial March Committee was founded in 1992 when a woman was found murdered on Powell Street. Since then, over the past 20 years, the Committee has organized for justice for missing and murdered women and raised local, national, and international attention on the issue. An annual march on February 14^th is led by women in the DTES because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual violence on a daily basis. Increasing deaths of many vulnerable women from the DTES still leaves family, friends, loved ones, and community members with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss. Every year the list of women going missing also increases and we are committed to justice.

The DEWC and Women’s Memorial March Committee as a formal Coalition with a full grant of standing before the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, is opposed to the proposal regarding an independent lawyer to present all the perspectives of the DTES. Our group was not even contacted by the Commission to see if we were amenable to this proposal, rather it was presented as a “fait accompli” and expressions of interests from lawyers were sought within three days.

The latest proposal is a further slap in our face, which comes in light of the BC government’s decision to shut out participation of DTES, Women’s and Indigenous groups and communities. The purpose of the public inquiry is being whittled away – the adversarial process already makes it highly improbable for vulnerable women to provide their testimonies as they will be subjected to rigorous cross examination by the police’s lawyers. This is highly objectionable as it revictimizes and traumatizes survivors of violence in an Inquiry that is supposed to bring some level of justice for them.

The most recent proposal is an insulting gesture to those grassroots women and communities that have called for a public inquiry for decades.  It tokenizes participation of all the groups granted standing and shows an utter lack of respect for the multi-dimensional experiences of those impacted by suggesting that one or two lawyers will “represent” their interest.  While the Inquiry process has framed us as ‘money-hungry’ groups, the reality is that the police departments have an undisclosed number of lawyers on their legal team, while the entire ‘public interest’ would now be served by 1-2 lawyers. This is an untenable task and fundamentally unfair.

The participation of the DEWC and the Women’s Memorial March Committee in the Commission of Inquiry, the ability to provide instructions, and the ability to access documents will all be negated by this proposal. The effect of the proposal is similar to the revocation of our full grant of standing and the denial of the funding recommendation. These amicus lawyers are not actually legally accountable to any “client” and are not taking instructions from any specific group. Therefore there is no structural guarantee that the voices of women, especially Indigenous women, in the DTES – who are the survivors of these horrors – will be at the centre of this process. Nor will these ‘independent’ lawyers have the capacity to defend and support women who are witnesses and build the same trust relationship with individual women. Finally, given the current wording of the undertakings that have to be signed regarding the confidentiality of legal documents, it is our understanding that we will not even be privy to the details in the legal documents. We believe that these legal documents, particularly all those documents that implicate police and officials, MUST be accessible to and made available for the public to see.

The amicus proposal is an attempt to lend legitimacy to a fundamentally flawed process by having a few lawyers who purportedly serve all our interests. In other cases where amicus models have been used, they are usually to present a single position on a single issue. In this case there are multiple issues and multiple positions. Most importantly, our organizations and women living in the DTES have to be key participants with full standing and representation throughout the process and not become relegated to ‘issues’ that get generalized through an amicus lawyer.

Women in the DTES have their own voices and stories and critical information to share with this Inquiry and have been demanding the space to do so for decades, but this Inquiry no longer facilitates that possibility. The police are armed with well-paid legal teams, and we have recently learnt that embedded police experts are reviewing legal documents which we do not have access to.

The Inquiry thus far has protected the interests of those it is supposed to be investigating – the police. It begs the question – what do the police and officials have to hide and why is the Inquiry serving them? The Commissioner has already recognized that the Inquiry will be unfair without the participation of the groups granted standing and has strongly recommended the funding of the groups. This amicus proposal is clearly not in the interests of the Commission and further compromises its integrity by caving to the provincial government.

We are asking lawyers aligned with us to not engage with the amicus proposal as doing so would lend legitimacy to a corrupted process which increasingly feels like nothing more than a cover-up. Though we have not yet made any final decisions, given the latest developments, DEWC and the Women’s Memorial March Committee are considering what, if any, participation we can have in this Inquiry. This was supposed to be our Inquiry – one that shed light on the crimes and complicity of the police and officials. But it appears there is no justice and no public in this Inquiry and the meaningful participation of women and the community has effectively been denied.

Signed,

The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre and the February 14^th Women’s Memorial March Committee

For more information contact Harsha Walia:  hwalia8@gmail.com or call 778 885 0040

Women’s Coalition of the Downtown Eastside is a newly formed network of women-serving organizations and women’s groups in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories. Our purpose is to advance women’s issues in the Downtown Eastside and to ensure the safety of women in this neighbourhood as a priority and a necessity.

We envision safety for women in the Downtown Eastside in a holistic manner. It includes safety for women from sexual and physical violence as well as safety from the daily indignities of poverty. We advocate for safe housing, safe services, and safe shelters for all women in the Downtown Eastside.

We observe how most services and spaces in the Downtown Eastside are either for men, or are co-ed spaces which default to men. Women in the Downtown Eastside deserve more choices in services which will meet their
diverse needs and experiences. All groups and services, including co-ed ones, need to embrace a women-centred philosophy and should implement practices that ensure women’s access and safety.

We will serve as a communication and network hub amongst service providers and women’s groups. When appropriate, we will work together to develop joint proposals. We prioritize the participation and engagement of women living in this community to identify how best we can meet their needs.

We are painfully aware of the particular experience of Aboriginal women, over-represented in this low-income neighbourhood and who have been marginalized for far too long. This is most evident in the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered women in the DTES.

We are inclusive and invite those who share our philosophy of serving women and are working to promote and ensure women’s safety to join us. We invite all individuals and organizations to support the work of our Coalition.

Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
WISH Drop-In
DTES Power of Women Group
Feb 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee
YWCA Crabtree Corner
Aboriginal Front Door Society
PACE Society
Battered Women’s Support Services
Inner-City Women’s Initiatives Society/DAMS
Saint James Community Service Society
Atira Women’s Resource Society
Union Gospel Mission