A Medicine Hat police officer participates Friday in the annual purple ribbon campaign, which aims to raise awareness during Family Violence Prevention Month.--SUPPLIED IMAGE
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Local officers tied purple ribbons to trees outside the Medicine Hat Police Service station on Friday as part of an annual campaign to increase awareness of family violence.
As part of Family Violence Prevention Month, the goal of the purple ribbon campaign is to spread public awareness of domestic violence both at home and across the country, and to commemorate historical tragedies of violence against women, including the 14 women murdered at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in 1989.
In Nunavut the campaign is used to develop a network of identifiable homes within the community where women and children can receive immediate shelter and assistance.
Homes can be identified with a purple ribbon sign in the front window, similar to the Block Parent program. The campaign started after a woman was locked out of her house by her partner when it was -57C outside with the windchill and dressed only in her underwear.
The woman did manage to find shelter after knocking on several doors but suffered from extensive frostbite and required weeks of treatment.
Visit the News online to find a list of local events supporting Family Violence Prevention month, or check out the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society’s website at mhwss.ca.
