Marchers protest violence against women

A crowd of people gathered at the Valour Community Centre in Winnipeg's West End on Thursday night to march through the neighbourhood, protesting violence against women.

Family members of missing women were also present in the crowd of men, women and children. Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne has been missing for just over a year, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with her sister's photo.

She said she hopes events like the Take Back the Night march will send a message that "women are sisters, they're mothers, they're daughters. They don't deserve to have their choices taken away. They're loved and they're not indispensable."

Miranda Anderson marched with her children in honour of her cousin, who went missing and was killed more than 10 years ago.

She agreed the events help to raise awareness of the need "to protect the women out there; to make them feel safe on the street," she said.

"We all have to feel safe whether you're a man or a woman."

Take Back the Night is an annual event in Winnipeg.

In August, the Manitoba government, RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service formally established a task force to review cases involving missing and murdered women in the province.

The unit includes three RCMP officers, two RCMP analysts and four officers from the Winnipeg Police Service. The province is also represented on the task force steering committee and will provide additional resources as needed.