35 years after Polytechnique massacre, advocates warn of evolving violence against women

Walking through the Place du 6-Decembre-1989 monument, Marina Mathieu can’t help but feel moved.

Each silver mound stands in memory of the 14 women murdered at Ecole Polytechnique 35 years ago. Though the tragedy is etched into Quebec’s collective memory, Mathieu, a project coordinator at the Quebec Women’s Federation (FFQ), says violence against women continues to run rampant.

“Being in this space today is reminding me that there’s so much work yet to be done,” she says. “The more time passes, the more we realize that violence is diversifying, it’s getting more complex…I wish I could say there’s a solution.”

Mathieu says aggression against women is morphing and migrating to cyberspaces.

The violence, though virtual, is very real.

Revenge porn, rape threats and deepfakes are endangering lives and reputations.

What starts online, can end offline.

And while technology races forward, Mathieu says the laws protecting women are lagging behind.

“All of it is not catching up fast enough,” she adds. “We as human beings building these kinds of platforms need to consider, how do we take accountability for this?”

Cyber violence has surged in the last five years, according to numbers shared by the FFQ. In Canada, 80 per cent of criminal online harassment victims are women and racialized people are three times more likely to be targeted.

Despite the shortfalls, some gains have been made, says Nathalie Provost, who survived the massacre that killed her classmates.

Provost says police now use the term femicide, meaning they have a better idea of where why and how often it happens.

“It’s a bit frightening because we see more clearly the issue here,” Provost adds. “But when we see the issue, we understand what’s behind it, I think as a society we make progress.”

She says there’s more work being done in schools and courtrooms, but the fight is far from over.