Femicide is a national emergency in Canada

With the increasing incidence of violence against women in Canada, some women's rights organizations believe that it is now imperative for the country to declare a national state of emergency. One such organization, "Body Bag for Her," aims to raise awareness about the seriousness of femicide in Canada and advocates for the declaration of a national state of emergency. This powerful campaign is initiated by the women's organization Aura Freedom in Canada to highlight that femicide has reached a critical stage and requires immediate attention.

Marciia Kucera, the founder and executive director of Aura Freedom, states that violence against women in Canada has become so widespread that almost every two days a woman or girl is murdered, often by intimate partners or family members. She emphasizes that femicide is more prevalent in rural areas and among Indigenous women, with various factors such as location, race, age, social class, and sexual preferences increasing the risk of women becoming victims.

Kucera underscores that despite the longstanding recognition of violence against women as a severe issue, the term "femicide" has yet to be officially acknowledged in Canadian laws. Declaring a national state of emergency could be a crucial step in introducing it as a distinct form of violence in criminal laws and allocating the necessary resources and justifications for addressing this problem. Collaborating with other women's rights organizations, Kucera aims to increase awareness and create public pressure to resolve this issue.

In the past year, over 50 cities in Ontario, including Toronto, Sudbury, Hamilton, and Kingston, have declared intimate partner violence and gender-based violence as an epidemic, indicating society's acknowledgment of the urgency of addressing this issue.

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