- Rio city councillor and activist Marielle Franco has been assassinated in Brazil. Hundreds gathered outside her funeral and protests erupted across the country.
“The spontaneous demonstration brought together union members, feminists, leftists, and residents of the city’s poorer communities…
… Franco was a gay black woman who defied the odds of Rio politics to win the fifth-highest vote count among council members when she was elected in 2016. She was an expert on police violence and had recently accused officers of being overly aggressive in searching residents of gang-controlled shantytowns. A member of a leftist party, Franco was also known for her social work in slums.”
- A man has been charged with murder after a woman and two of her children were killed in their home in Ajax, Ontario. Krassimira “Krissy” Pejcinovski and her 15-year-old son Roy were found dead yesterday. 13-year-old Venallia was found alive but died of her injuries last night. The police have not released the man’s name but said he “is believed to have been romantically involved with the adult female victim.”
- DriveHer, a ride-sharing service exclusively run by and for women, is set to launch this Friday in Toronto. So far, 100 women have signed up as drivers.
- A BC study found that Indigenous women are 92 per cent more likely to get cervical cancer than non-Indigenous women. Dr. Sheona Mitchell-Foster says Indigenous women are less likely to get regular pap tests because of the colonial practice of forced sterilization. She also says there is a lack of health services in the Northern parts of the province, including a lack of female doctors, and is piloting a program where women can do the tests themselves at home.