It won’t be long before businesses, schools, and homes across London are encouraged to turn purple in support of women facing gendered violence.
The London Abused Women’s Centre (LAWC) is formally launching its ninth annual Shine The Light campaign Friday morning.
Jen Dunn, the special events and volunteer co-ordinator at LAWC, says encouraging Londoners to wear and show off the colour purple lets women know they’re not alone and that help is available.
“If a woman hears about the campaign, or sees someone wearing purple, or goes to work and sees a colleague wearing a purple pin, what kind of impact would that have for that woman to know somebody would maybe support them?”
The push to wear purple is in November, and the colour is said to represent courage and strength. Organizers say wearing purple sends a message to women the shame or blame they feel doesn’t belong to them, but to their abuser.
“It all stems back to the root of the cause, which is patriarchy… women want to be at the same level as men,” said Dunn. She notes that equal pay and equal rights are still something society has to work on.
The campaign honours two women each year: a survivor of male violence and a woman who has died. The names of both women will be announced during the media launch.
Shine The Light has spread internationally to Sweden and Australia, and has garnered support from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the past two years.