Shine the Light launch honours Cindy Gladue

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel a love like my mom’s again,” Cheyanne Gladue said quietly into a microphone, speaking of a mother who is one of two women at the heart of this year’s Shine the Light campaign by the London Abused Women’s Centre.

“Sometimes I see someone when I’m out, and it looks like her from behind. I have to remember she’s no longer with us.”

Cindy Gladue was a 36-year-old Cree woman from Edmonton. Her life as both a mother and daughter was honoured before a packed room, as the organization launched it’s annual campaign to raise awareness about men’s violence against women.

The disturbing details of her death are at the root of a first-degree murder trial that originally found Ontario trucker Bradley Barton not guilty. Gladue’s body was found in the bathtub of a hotel back in 2011, and the Alberta Court of Appeal has since ordered a new murder trial.

“It’s really hard knowing your daughter was murdered, because she was a prostitute,” said Gladue’s mother, Donna McCleod.

WATCH: Cheyenne, 16, says her mother was always there for her and her siblings whenever they needed her most.

“I loved her. Her family loved her,” she said, as Cheyanne — the youngest of Gladue’s three daughters — placed a reassuring hand on her grandmother’s back.

When Gladue wasn’t able to take care of her daughters because she was having a “hard time,” McCleod says she took in Cheyanne, Brandy, and Brianne. She didn’t realize her daughter had been working in the sex trade until a trial into her death began, and McCleod described how painful it was to hear the word “prostitute” being used in lieu of her name, over and over again.

“Cindy was first and foremost Cindy Gladue,” emphasized London Abused Women’s Centre executive director Megan Walker.

“This problem that women experience every day doesn’t belong to women. This problem will not be resolved through the actions of women. It will be resolved only when men stand up and say no more.”

Gladue is one of two women the campaign is putting the spotlight on this year. Ashley Desjardine, a London woman who survived an abusive relationship, is also being recognized.

“A couple of years ago, I didn’t even really know who I was at that point,” said Desjardine.

“When you’re in that kind of relationship, you kind of get worn down … you’re a shell of the woman you used to be. Sometimes it still kind of blows my mind now, of where I am.”

Shine the Light officially kicks off on Nov. 1st with a lighting of the Tree of Hope, and urges cities, regions, and countries, to turn purple for the whole month.

Events include “Wear Purple Day” on November 15th, “Purple Night on the Town” on November 24th when restaurants will offer purple drinks and food items, and London Lightning basketball game on November 30th when players will wear a custom jersey.

The campaign has been recognized by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and has made steps internationally with Shine the Light campaigns taking root in Australia, and Sweden.