Hundreds will march in an annual showing of support for missing and murdered women, girls and two spirit peoples.
Friday night will be the 17th annual Valentine’s Day Memorial March.
“Now is the time of year where everyone’s thinking about love and there are so many people who have been lost and we still love them,” said coordinator the Valentine’s Day Memorial March, Chantal Chagnon.
The nationwide event is meant to honour the humanity of the thousands of people who have been taken from their families.
“When we march it’s for their families,” said Chagnon.
Organizers say the march also looks to draw attention to the disproportionate number of Indigenous women targeted by violence and the systemic inequalities that exists.
Recent statistics from the Canadian Research Institute estimate 1,200 Indigenous women and girls are missing or have been murdered in Canada.
“As an Indigenous person, it’s not whether you’ve been impacted, it’s how many times and how close to home it is. Unfortunately, this is a systemic issue,” said Chagnon.
Indigenous women are five times more likely to die as a result of violence, more than any other group of women in Canada, the institute says.
They’re also at a greater risk of being assaulted by an intimate partner or by a stranger.
“It would be very to find anybody in the indigenous community that hasn’t been touched by this,” said University of Calgary sociology professor Cora Voyageur.
For Voyageur, who is from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the issue hits close to home. Her husband’s aunt was found murdered.
“There’s seems to be a devaluing of Indigenous women in our lives,” said Voyageur. “What has happened in the past is that for some reason or reason, we are blamed for, is that we are, kind of victims of our own choices, our own lifestyles.”
Voyageur uses the example of Indigenous women being referred to as sex workers and “just being in the wrong time at the wrong place.”
“The clearance rate for Indigenous women and girls, murdered or missing, is about 20 per cent lower than it is for (others),” she said.
She calls for swifter action from law enforcement when cases are first reported.
“When we go to the police and report one of our loved ones missing, we should expect action right away,” said Voyageur.
The night will start with speeches at Scarboro United Church at 6:30 p.m.
The group will then depart on their march at 7:30 p.m.
It’s expected dozens of victims' friends and family members will be in attendance, along with hundreds of other community members. Anyone is able to attend.
During the march, red cut-outs and frames with the names of missing and murdered women will be carried to honour those missing and their loved ones who are still looking for answers.
