The MacEwan University Idea and Social Club will collaborate with the MacEwan University Sociology Club, Feminists at MacEwan, and InQUEERies to raise awareness about systemic violence against women by hosting a collective event called Breaking the Silence: Addressing the Violence Against Women.

“The event is not meant to rectify past injustices, but to bring awareness to the fact that violence against women is still occurring today,” says Marc Yegani, the president of the Idea and Social Club.

The club’s year-end event will include acts from local community groups for women. One such act will be from ShaktiFlow, a group that will be using a blend of dance, theatre, and spoken word for their performance. The other performance is from an organization called Changing Together. Changing Together’s theatre arts program is focused on supporting immigrant women. Both groups will be taking the stage to bring attention to “the silence surrounding sexual and domestic violence” that women face, says Yegani.

The title of the event, Breaking the Silence, is meant to encourage a stance against the violence that women face, and to create an open discussion forum.

“Our event … is an attempt to acknowledge the existence of this barrier and to break it,” Yegani says.

Leading up to the event, the public will have opportunities to get involved with fundraising events happening around campus. Headed by the Sociology Club, these events will raise money and donations that will go towards an Edmonton-based women’s shelter.

“With this event, we are hoping to unite the various clubs and students at MacEwan in order to show our solidarity against this issue” says Yegani.

All clubs involved in the year-end event are extending an invitation for students, staff, and the public to come and stand together on March 23 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the CN Theater, free of charge. The event is not meant to solve violence and abuse in a day, but instead to present a space to work with collective support, where attention and awareness can break the silence.

Cover photo by Acid Pix via Flickr. Edited.