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A key event in a month-long campaign, Wear Purple Day is all about showing and sharing support to help end male violence against women. What you need to know:
THE BIG PICTURE
Wear Purple Day is part of the broader Shine the Light on Woman Abuse campaign, a November public awareness drive organized in London by the London Abused Women’s Centre. Its aim is to draw attention to male violence against women and show solidarity with women and girls who survived intimate partner violence or exploitation, including human trafficking. Buildings and landmarks are lit purple for the month, in London and around the world, and the campaign begins with a ceremony in Victoria Park where purple lights decorating a “Tree of Hope” are turned on. Each year, the memory of one or more women who died of violence is also honoured.
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WHY PURPLE?
Associated with courage and bravery, the colour purple runs through the campaign as a defining symbol. Not everyone has a building they can light up, but they can make their own statement in support of the cause by wearing purple on Nov. 15, said Gail McVicar of the London Abused Women’s Centre. “If people can wear purple, that starts the conversation about why everybody at work or school is wearing purple. It’s a way to keep the conversation going and raise awareness,” she said.
HOW TO TAKE PART
A scarf, a coat, a sweater or a hat – any number of purple-coloured garments can be worn. There’s no specific dress code, only a call to show support and consider sharing on social media platforms photos or short videos on how you’re joining in. Use the hashtag #ShinetheLight2024 and tag @endwomanabuse on Instagram, Facebook or X (formerly Twitter). “It’s a great way for us to share the message and for it to be shared through our community partners and through our networks and for other people to see it,” McVicar said.
THIS YEAR’S FOCUS
Now its 15th year, the Shine the Light on Woman Abuse campaign shifts its spotlight each year to different issues or themes in violence against women. Last year, for example, it was the terrible toll of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. This year, the focus is on femicide – the killing of women and girls – and human trafficking. The mother of Samatha Lambert, a St. Catharines teenager 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. The other is Sahra Bulle, a Windsor woman whose body was found in 2023 after she’d been missing for 12 days. Her estranged husband of 18 years is charged with first-degree murder.
GOING FORWARD
Wearing purple in support of the campaign isn’t limited to Friday, and supporters are encouraged to get further involved, for example, by helping to educate others about domestic violence. “Create an environment so that people (experiencing violence) would be able to reach out and know that they would be believed,” said McVicar, adding “having that conversation is really important.”
bbaleeiro@postmedia.com
@BeaBaleeiro
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