WINNIPEG – A haunting memorial honoured the memories of women who’ve been killed by their partners in Manitoba.
The Silent Witness Project memorial consists of life-sized silhouettes that represent a woman killed by their partner.
“Every time I’m here I see another silhouette and I don’t want to see anymore,” said Deborah Scromeda.
Scromeda’s daughter Shannon was brutally murdered by her partner in 2008.
Deborah shared her daughter’s story with the people who had gathered for the memorial at West End Cultural Centre in the hopes of helping more victims.
“There can always be more places, more women’s centres and just more general knowledge to the public of we need help for these women,” she said.
New legislation was put in place last year in Manitoba making it easier to take guns away from violent partners and to get a protection order.
“If someone breaches that protection order we don’t actually have to wait for them to commit a crime so that’s the key thing that would come from a protection order but it’s only one of many things that I think needs to be done,” said Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smythe.
Smythe spoke at the memorial stressing the importance of neighbourhood support groups in battling domestic violence.
“Police aren’t going to do this themselves it’s going to be the partnerships with the community,” said Smythe.
The memorial is held every year by the Family Violence Consortium of Manitoba.
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