This is the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Gender-Based Violence, a day to mark the horrific massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989 when14 young women were gunned down outside the former Ecole Polytechnique – just because they were women.

The YWCA St. John’s has launched a fund to help survivors of gender-based violence, the National Emergency Survivors Support Fund. YWCA executive director Maria Gentle says people who experience such violence and abuse often cite a lack of access to sufficient financial resources as one of the main reasons why they are unable to escape such situations.

She says donations to their NESS fund enables the organization to help provide support services for people experiencing gender-based violence.