MONTREAL -- Family members of a woman who died in hospital following an alleged attack by her boyfriend issued calls for action against domestic violence in Quebec on Monday.
Rebekah Harry was found unconscious by police at her LaSalle residence on March 20. She was immediately rushed to hospital, where she later died. She was 29 years old.
Officers arrested Brandon McIntyre, 32, who has been charged with second degree murder and assault.
Harry’s death marks the seventh femicide in Quebec in the last seven weeks.
Since her death, her name has become widely known, as many call on the government to do more to fight violence against women, which is on the rise in Quebec.
But to her family, she’s known by another name.
“Rebekah Love, that was her actual government name. Love was what she gave everyone she encountered,” said her brother, Teddy Frenette, on Monday.
Frenette says her sister, Rebekah Love Harry, became one of “seven woman leaving 14 children orphaned by mother to domestic violence. Seven woman who, in some way or another, the system has failed.”
A march in Harry's memory will take place on April 3, starting at Cabot Square at 5:30 p.m.
The march will be held “to bring awareness to domestic violence,” said Frenette.
Rebekah Love Harry. Source: Facebook
“I want to address this crisis as a priority,” Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault told CTV News on Monday.
“We are addressing this important issue by taking care of in the highest level of the government,”
Guilbault announced she’ll lead a new committee on violence against women in Quebec, and though she hesitated to provide a concrete action plan, she said that “money will be no issue.”
“If we need more money in shelters, we will spend more money,” she said, alluding to calls from Quebec's federation of women's shelters (FMHF) to spend more on housing services for women in need.
“I think we all have to make the individual decision that ‘this is enough’,” said Guilbault.
“And we also have to make sure people who do commit violent crimes are being held accountable for their actions, and there is consequence.”
