Thompson's annual Take Back the Night march, which took place on Sept. 25, saw a larger turnout than in recent years, with about 100 people, including many children and youth, showing up to walk through downtown Thompson as a protest against violence in the community and the country as a whole.
"I know I stand before you as what is deemed the mayor of the most violent community in Canada," said Mayor Tim Johnston, referring to the city's ranking in terms of violent crime per capita in the national Crime Severity Index. "That is something that I'm absolutely not proud of but I am extremely proud that I know there's so many good people in this community and so many good organizations that are working to make a difference for people. Tonight you're a part of that by taking the time to walk and I want to remind you, Thompson is a great community. It's a great community because every one of you are here to show you care. It's not acceptable to see the level of domestic violence. It's not acceptable for people to fear and we can make that difference."
Churchill NDP MP Niki Ashton, whose riding includes Thompson, told the walkers that 51 per cent of women in Canada experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime and that fewer than half come forward to police about it. She also noted that the statistics are even grimmer for aboriginal women, 600 of who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada.
"What these statistics tell us is that our communities need to take back our streets, to take back our neighbourhoods, our cities, our communities across this country and that's what we're here to do tonight," she said. "We're sending a message to our entire community and to our country as well that we will not tolerate violence against women, against men, against people who express their sexual orientation differently, against people who express themselves differently. We will not tolerate any of that violence and when that violence stops we will all be better off. I know that we will not stop walking, and we will not stop acting and we will not stop fighting until no woman and no person goes missing or is murdered on our streets and in our communities."
Pastor Dan Murphy of the Thompson Pentecostal Assembly said it was important to address the underlying causes of violence.
"The reality is the majority of violence that we deal with in our community is a result of alcohol and drug abuse," said Murphy. "We see the destruction when alcohol and drugs are the influences in a person's life. It's time as a community we don't just focus on an individual who is struggling with an addiction but we need to challenge those businesses and people who continue to enable and profit from what we see as our social ills."
The final two speakers before the walk began - Val Charlette and Kim Hickes - said despite the sobering reality, there is reason for hope.
"When I used to live here back in the 80s, I used to be able to walk across town with no fear. I wouldn't do that today," said Charlette, who is a member of the Grandmothers Protecting Our Children committee, which used to host a separate walk of its own but this year joined the Take Back the Night march instead. "Even though the not-so-good things are happening in our community we still have hope that things can get better and that we can come together as a community and look at each other - whatever culture that we have, that it's all equal. One's not up here and one's not down there. It's all equal."
Hickes, the director of the Thompson Crisis Centre, which provides services to people who've experienced domestic violence, was happy to see such a large turnout.
"It warms my heart the amount of people that have shown up to show their support about reducing violence against women and girls in the North and violence in general," she said. "Violence knows no boundaries and we see that firsthand in this community."
