After Valentine’s Day comes V-Day, as is the case at Trent University Oshawa this Saturday, February 15, where students, faculty, staff and the community will gather at the Thornton Road Campus at 5 p.m. to observe the global movement to end violence against women and girls, with the help of special guest speaker Whitby-Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott.

“We’re thrilled that Ms. Elliott is speaking at our event,” said Susanne Luehr, a fourth year Trent Oshawa student, president of the Trent Women’s Support Group and the event chair. “Empowering females to be successful, strong individuals is critical in eradicating violence against women and girls and Ms. Elliott is a wonderful role model of those characteristics in our community.”

The student-led benefit event will also recognize the efforts of five women in the Durham community who are catalysts in the crusade against female violence. Award recipients are Jackie Clements of the Durham Rape Crisis Centre, Yevonne Culligan, outreach crisis counsellor of Herizon House and Sandra McCormick, the executive director of the Denise House, both emergency shelters for abused women and their children, Chris Walker of the Durham Regional Police, Sexual Assault Unit and Durham College student activist Miranda-Lorrie Bouchard.

The latter portion of the evening will feature Trent Oshawa students in The Vagina Monologues, an award-winning play based on V-Day Founder/playwright Eve Ensler's interviews with more than 200 women. With humour and grace the piece celebrates women's sexuality and strength.

For more information about Trent Oshawa’s V-Day benefit event visit the Facebook event page.
V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. For more information, visit: www.vday.org/home