The Mass Casualty Commission has hosted multiple panels and roundtables on the connections between GBV, misogyny and mass shootings, but who is listening? Our ED, Sue Bookchin who has been steadfast in her participation throughout the MCC calls for more attention by media, legal professionals and the public to the depth of local expertise available during the inquiry on these critical connections and needed reforms.
Stacey Godsoe, Project & Resource Coordinator at Be the Peace Institute, shared some clear and recurring patterns across the research on the connections between mass shootings and gender based violence. If we do not make these connections we fail to understand the root of the problem and cannot prevent future atrocities.
Our very own Sue Bookchin (in collaboration with Emma Halpern of the Elizabeth Fry Society) wrote this plea for a more compassionate and trauma informed consideration of the role that domestic violence played in Lisa Banfield's life and decision making during the days surrounding the mass shooting in Portapique, NS on April 18 & 19, 2020. While we need to shine a light on all that unfolded during the events in Portapique, critical context is needed including the role that IPV played in order to formulate recommendations that might prevent mass killings in the future.
