Remembering Women and Girls Killed by Violence
A key objective of the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability is to bring a visible, national focus on femicide in this country. One way of doing so is to be sure that femicide victims are not forgotten by naming these women and girls with the purpose of remembering them.
Below, beginning in 2018, we name and remember all women and girls in Canada killed by violence. We will continue to compile and document their deaths from previous years and publish these names as each year is completed. Below, there are many instances where we do not know the name of the woman or girl. This is largely due to a growing trend in some jurisdictions not to release names of victims. We feel it is still important to include an entry for this individual to remember her.
As noted elsewhere on our website, we define femicide as ‘the killing of all women and girls because of their sex or gender primarily, but not exclusively, by men.’ As such, some of the cases below involve female accused. We will continue to include all such cases until there is clearer international consensus on the parameters of femicide or gender-related killings of women and girls and/or more detail on the circumstances of their deaths become available.
Our information is drawn from media sources with relevant links provided and captures only information known at the time. Given the high risks faced by Indigenous women and girls, we indicate whether the woman or girl was Indigenous. However, it is important to note that whether a woman or girl is Indigenous will not always be mentioned or captured in the media; therefore, these cases will be undercounted. Information will be updated as it becomes available.
As we track these cases, there are numerous cases identified as ‘suspicious deaths’ or women and girls who disappeared. These names are not included below. We will continue to monitor the investigations into the deaths or disappearances of these women and girls until these cases are resolved.
Deaths that result from crashes or collisions by motor vehicle that were not intentional or other clearly random acts are not included.