Small crowd marches down Main Street Pincher Creek in support of global One Billion Rising campaign

Local V-Day activists
C. Davis photos

Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice

A small group of about 15 women (and a couple of men, myself included) joined a peaceful march down Main Street Pincher Creek today in an effort to prod awareness of violence against women.

Executive Director at Pincher Creek Women's Emergency Shelter Julie Coleman explained the significance of the event.

"We're marching in solidarity with the One Billion Rising campaign.  It was a campaign that started with Eve Ensler."

Ensler is the author, playwright and activitist who wrote and performed the original iterations of The Vagina Monologues.  She began 'V-Day' in 1998 after hearing women's reactions to the play, which often included personal experiences of sexual abuse.  In the intervening years V-Day has expanded into a huge movement, with thousands of events occurring occurring around the world.  Today marks the 15th year of the movement.   Women and men in 203 countries were expected to take part in today's events.

"The U.N. stat is that there's one in three women who is battered or raped worldwide, so the one-in-three stat translates into one billion.  So across the whole globe today women are rising up in different ways, and men, just to raise awareness of violence against women and help put a stop to it."

"There's violence against women everywhere, including in our little peaceful small town."

The Pincher Creek Women's Shelter has 16 beds and the phone line is staffed 24 hours a day.  If a woman needs help "All she has to do is make a call and we'll talk to her and determine with her what her needs are."

The Shelter also has an outreach program that helps deal with dating violence prevention.  Child abuse situations are referred to Child Protection. "Anybody is welcome to call," said Coleman.

There are resources at the end of this article for any woman, man, or child who is suffering from or has suffered from abuse.  

"V-Day dreams of a world in which women and girls will be free to thrive, rather than merely survive. With your help, we can make it happen." ~ V-Day website

The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine and Vagina.

From the V- Day website:

"In conjunction with the 15th anniversary, V-Day launched its most ambitious campaign to date - ONE BILLION RISING. The concept of the campaign is simple. If you take into account the statistic that 1 out of 3 women will experience violence in her lifetime, you are left with the staggering statistic that over 1 billion women on this planet will be impacted by violence." 

Do you need some help?

Pincher Creek Women's Emergency Shelter
phone 403-627-4868    Toll Free: 1-888-354-4868   Fax 403-627-4808
pcwesa@telusplanet.net

Kids Help Phone Alberta  (24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
1-800-668-6868
Click here for live online chat with a counsellor, Thursdays to Sundays, 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm EST

Alberta Distress Centre (24/7)
1-403-266-HELP

Related links:
V Day website
One Billion Rising