Mother of teen who died helps launch Shine the Light campaign

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Dozens of city officials and community members dressed in purple gathered in Victoria Park on Friday for the start of the London Abused Women’s Centre’s annual Shine the Light on Woman Abuse campaign.

The mother of Samatha Lambert, a St. Catharines teen who was found dead in 2019, lit the Tree of Hope to mark the campaign’s start. Lambert is one two women highlighted in this year’s campaign that is focusing on femicide – the killing of women and girls – and human trafficking.

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Yvonne Lambert unveiled her daughter’s figure with the teen’s story on her chest as she became one of 16 “silent witnesses,” women who have lost their lives because of men’s violence against women and have been honoured by the campaign.

In September 2018, Lambert’s said her “world changed” after she reported her daughter had gone missing, but it “crumbled” in February 2019, when the teen was found dead in Welland.

Lambert said she believes her daughter was a victim of human trafficking.

“There were changes in her behaviours, and she was hanging around a different crowd,” she said. “But Samantha was so much more than what happened to her, she was a daughter and a friend to so many.”

Femicide and human trafficking are issues “way too familiar” in London, said Jennifer Dunn, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, an agency for women and girls who have been abused and assaulted.

“We need to continue to have conversations, like why people are here (at the event),” Dunn said. “Like the provincial government declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic and continue funding to support women, there are so many ways to make it stop.”

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Mayor Josh Morgan said the campaign “is important for public awareness.

“Each and every day women are at risk in this community, whether it’s intimate partner violence, human trafficking or exploitation, and that’s completely unacceptable in a modern city,” Morgan said.

The agency had nearly 11,000 service interactions in the last year, including more than 6,600 calls and more than 4,000 counselling and group counselling appointments, Dunn said in an interview.

Landmarks across Canada and around the globe, including in the U.K. and Australia, will be lit in purple in November for the Shine the Light campaign. The London Abused Women’s Centre is also inviting the public to wear purple on Nov. 15 to raise public awareness about violence against women and girls.

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