December 6, 1989 was a day many will never forget. The Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal massacre occurred, with 14 deaths of young women and another 14 people injured in under 20 minutes, due to a perpetrator whose sole motive was antifeminism and misogyny. This event was one of the reasons for more stringent gun control laws in Canada.
This year, December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women; the P.S.A.C Annapolis Valley Regional Women’s Committee partnered with the 14 Wing Greenwood Defense Women’s Advisory Organization to hold a vigil. Since December 6, 1989, violence on women at the hands of their domestic partners and other known males has increased.
Colleen Coffey and Jennifer Holleman were invited to speak about two very sensitive topics.
Coffey spoke about her experience as a young child growing up in an alcohol-fueled, abusive household, and the long-term effects it left on young, impressionable children. She described the fear of what could possibly instigate her father to violence – including nothing. After a short courtship, her parents were married. Shortly after, the abuse started: on more than one occasion, her father held a gun to their mother’s head. Coffey’s mother suffered with the abuse, as the times considered it as “you made the bed that you laid in.” One of Coffey’s brothers grew up to be an alcoholic and was abusive to their family. He died after being involved in a motor vehicle accident. The other most abused brother also abuses alcohol, was also abusive and has lost his family due to the abuse and dependency issues. Coffey considers her brother alive in body, but his spirit is no longer here.
Coffey’s presentation showed how the cycle of abuse does not just end: it has long-lasting effects on children who are often thought will “forget about it” because they are so young. After the Coffey children were grown and had left the family home, Coffey’s mother left her husband. He gave up drinking, became a member of AA and sponsored others. The couple re-united, but he never abused her again while sober.
Annapolis Valley native Holleman described losing her daughter, Maddison, to human trafficking. A French immersion student, Maddison was an award-winning athlete, had a loving family and friends who loved her. She was not seemingly the type of person who could have “slipped through the cracks.” After losing Maddison in 2015, Holleman became an outspoken advocate and global ambassador for trafficked women, using her experiences of a mother’s worst nightmare to educate others who may be struggling with similar experiences. She hopes people will learn to recognize the warning signs she did not. Her new book, “Forever Twenty-one, Maddison’s Story,” was released December 5, and is already on the Amazon best-seller list for its genre.
The entire vigil was somber, with stories shared by people with heart and real-life experiences with the subjects.
We would like to express our thanks to Padre Lampron, sexual assault nurse examiner, and EAP for being present to assist.
December 6, 1989
Maryse Laganiere • Maryse Leclair • Anne-Marie Lemay • Sonia Pelletier
Michele Richard • Annie St-Arneault • Annie Turcotte • Genevieve Bergeron
Helen Colgan • Nathalie Croteau • Barbara Daigneault • Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick • Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
