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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 14, 2007 - 15 Day of Remembrance not enough to stop violence By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Affluence doesn't guarantee immunity from domestic violence, and those Oakville residents who think it does are living under a false perception, said Detective Brett Wilkinson, the domestic violence co-ordinator for Halton Regional Police. He was among several speakers at T.A. Blakelock High School's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, on Dec. 6. Parliament commemorated the day in 1991 to mark the misogynistic murders of 14 female students at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. Between January 2006 and November 2007, Halton Regional Police officers responded to 4,000 domestic violence calls ­ 40 per cent of them were to homes in Oakville. Considering that violence in homes is believed to occur 10 times before victims call police, this underlies a far greater prevalence. "It proves that domestic violence strikes the lower, middle and upper classes," said Detective Wilkinson. Criminal charges were laid in 1,106 of all the reported domestic violence cases. Spending one day per year talking about the issue and pondering it ­ as if figuring out why violence continues is the greatest mystery ­ is not enough, said a frustrated Zehra Haffajee, the more important to change, self-reflect and keep a check on offensive, hurtful language, added Hafferjee. For a start, about 150 Blakelock students filled the school's auditorium to see the Grade 11 drama class present a play called `Stop Whispering ­ Start Shouting'. Touching on violence in intimate relationships, child abuse and bullying that leads to violence, the cast recited statistics, headlines, and anecdotes about the ways these issues continue to show themselves in everyday life. RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER ANTI-VIOLENCE MESSAGE: T. A. Blakelock High School's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women featured a play, Stop Whispering, Start Shouting performed by the Grade 11 Drama Class. education director of the Sexual Assault Violence Intervention Services. "We condone violence against women the other 364 days of the year," she added. "I am sick of coming into school and hearing students call each other `bitch' and `skank', and where the worst thing to call as guy is a woman," Haffajee said through tears. Words, even just one, have the power to condemn, heal or forgive, she added, reminding students that Adolf Hitler called Jewish people `vermin' and in Rwanda, Hutus were called `cockroaches' in an effort to dehumanize people. "Think about what you say," said Hafferjee. While it's important to remember the victims of the Montreal massacre it's Snuggle Up gg p For The Holidays "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e r s . c a 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905.337.2066