'Enough is enough': Montrealers march to demand more be done to stop conjugal violence

Cries of "not one more" and "enough is enough" could be heard from downtown Montreal's Place du Canada to Parc Émilie-Gamelin Saturday, as dozens of people marched to demand that more be done to curb domestic violence in Quebec. 

Christine Giroux, a survivor of intimate partner violence and the organizer of the protest, was one of several speakers that denounced the ongoing issue at the demonstration. 

"How many more women must be killed before things change?" she said. "Who will raise their hands with me to say that enough is enough?" 

At least 10 women have been killed in Quebec in acts of domestic violence this year. 

An 82-year-old man was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder, after his 90-year-old wife was found dead in a seniors' residence in Vaudreuil-Dorion.

On Monday, Kamaljit Arora, 45, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the deaths of his 11-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter in Laval, Que,. He is also accused of assaulting and strangling his wife. 

"Conjugal violence is taboo, nobody talks about it …  but it exists," said Giroux.

That's why survivor Khaoula Grissa speaks openly about the abuse her ex put her through, despite how difficult it might be. 

"I will not stop speaking out about it," Grissa said.

She described everything she did to protect herself and her daughter: entering a women's shelter, cutting her hair, changing her glasses and putting her daughter into five different daycares. 

Still, it wasn't enough. Grissa's abuser tracked her and her daughter down in 2019 and tried to kill them. 

"I did everything to protect myself, to protect my daughter and despite this, we weren't protected," she said. 

Grissa is calling for more to be done to protect accusers of conjugal violence. She wants more social and second-stage housing for victims of abuse, as well as better resources to safely accuse their partners of violence.  

Speakers at Saturday's demonstration called for action from both the provincial and federal governments.

Giroux wants the expanded use of Quebec's domestic violence tracking bracelets to protect victims from their attackers, and more severe criminal punishments for abusers at a federal level. 

As it stands, the bracelets can only be used for people who have been given sentences ranging from six months to two years less a day — a law that does not help Giroux, whose partner has been released after serving more than two years in prison. 

Quebec has been piloting a specialized court for crimes involving victims of domestic and sexual violence this year. But Giroux is calling for more specialized police units that will take all women's complaints seriously before it's too late. 

Neither the provincial nor federal governments responded to requests for comment Saturday.  

Until concrete changes can be made at a political level, protestors like Kim Itri will continue calling for social change. 

"We want women to be believed," she said.

"It's a cause that's very important for us because we're survivors, we're fighters… we just want to change things."