Submitted by: MNO Métis Family Wellbeing Coordinator Catherine Corbett
Women and children marching down Queen Street South
in Mississauga during the Take Back the Night event. Click
here for larger picture.On September 21, 2017, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) citizens and staff participated in the second annual Take Back the Night event and rally that took place at the beautiful Streetsville Square in Mississauga.
The event was hosted by the Peel Committee Against Woman Abuse (PCAWA). The MNO is a proud member of PCAWA through its Brampton office.
Take Back the Night is an anti-violence vigil to increase community awareness and support every woman’s right to live without fear. Over 150 people attended the event and supported the PCAWA by speaking out against violence against women. Some honoured guests who came to support the event were Member of Parliament (MP) Sven Spengemann and City of Mississauga Councilors Sue McFadden, Matt Mahoney and George Carlson.
Take Back the Night included displays set up by community organizations and started with a delicious Boston Pizza and samosa dinner. The emcees came from the Newcomer Centre of Peel and the United Food and Commercial Workers of Canada. The opening included a prayer from an elder and the acknowledgement that Mississauga sits on Indigenous lands.
Survivors who spoke out to the crowd included poet Renee McPhee, Sylvie Noutie and singers Adri Noronha and Lukshana Sathyanathan. Those who attended were moved and found strength as these amazing women opened up about their experiences.
In the evening, the group of women and children gathered together on Queen Street with a police escort. The group marched down the street up to Britannia Park and then came back to the square where they had started. The women and children were decorated with yellow glow sticks provided by MNO staff members and Catherine Corbett and Rose Colacci-Fines. Corbett was a safety marshal during the event keeping the marchers safe and directing them away from the traffic. Corbett also helped the women leading the march with chanting. The sound level of the vigil chanting was very powerful as it received great attention from people who were not part of the march. Rally chants included: “Hey hey! ho ho! Patriarchy has got to go!” and “However we dress, wherever we go yes means yes and no means no!”
At the end of the evening the crowd’s voices were raspy but everyone was full of positive energy.
The MNO staff of Brampton had a great time partnering with the PCAWA on this event and look forward to the next event to end violence against women.
If you or someone you know is living with abuse in the Credit River area, please do not hesitate to have them contact the MNO staff in the Brampton office at:
Phone: 905 450-444
Catherine Corbett Ext 304
Rose Colacci-Fines Ext 305
Posted: November 21, 2017