Women's Memorial March to take place on Valentine's Day

On Valentine’s Day, you can ignore the hype of the Hallmark holiday and instead show your support for the search for the missing women of the Downtown Eastside at the 18th annual Women’s Memorial March.

Each year on February 14 people gather to honour the memories of missing women from the Downtown Eastside, some of whom died as victims of physical and mental violence.

In a press release, Marlene George, a Memorial March Committee organizer, expressed her concern about the escalating violence against women in the Eastside.

“Every year the list [of known missing women] continues to grow. We have to understand that violence against women is always unacceptable,” she said.

The Missing Women’s Task Force currently lists 39 women as missing from the Downtown Eastside.

Family members will speak at 12 p.m. in the Carnegie Centre in remembrance of their daughters.

The march will begin at 1 p.m. at the corner of Main and Hastings streets and will continue on to the Vancouver Police Department, ending with a healing ceremony at Oppenheimer Park.

Memorial marches will also be held across Canada in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Sudbury, London, and Victoria.