35 Years After Montreal Massacre, Calls to Address Violence Against Women Persist

The anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique shooting highlights ongoing issues of misogyny, femicide, and the fragility of women’s rights.

On December 6, 1989, a gunman killed 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, targeting them for being women in engineering, an act now recognized as femicide.
Advocates are pushing for the inclusion of 'femicide' in Canada’s Criminal Code to better address gender-based violence, following similar steps in other countries.
Despite decades of advocacy, violence against women remains a critical issue, with recent high-profile cases and misogynistic rhetoric gaining traction online and offline.
Survivors and advocates emphasize the importance of collective action, urging men to actively support efforts to combat violence and protect women’s rights.
The anniversary serves as a reminder of both the progress made and the persistent threats to gender equality, with growing concerns about the erosion of hard-won rights globally.