A LARGE crowd gathered in the Diamond in Enniskillen yesterday (Tuesday) to honour the memory of women and girls who have lost their lives to domestic abuse.
A candle-lit vigil was held as part of the 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign aimed at raising awareness and fostering action to end violence against women and girls.
The event, titled ‘Remembering Her Light’, brought the community together to remember and honour the 24 women who have been murdered in Northern Ireland since 2020.
It also offered solidarity and support to those who continue to need safety, protection, justice, and hope.
The vigil began with an emotional performance from local singers Niamh and Philana, the duo known as ‘Laytha’, who have long supported the work of Fermanagh Women’s Aid. Their beautiful voices provided a fitting start to the vigil.
Kerrie Flood, interim CEO of Fermanagh Women’s Aid, addressed the crowd, saying, “Over the next few minutes, you will hear the names of 24 women. Women like you and me – our mothers, our friends, our grandmothers, our colleagues, our aunties, our sisters. Our women.”
She added, “Lives taken by abusive men, not by monsters in the night lurking in the shadows, but most often by ordinary men who look like our fathers, our friends, our grandfathers, our colleagues.”
Ms Flood called for action to challenge the attitudes and behaviours that enable abuse, misogyny, sexism, gender-based violence, and femicide to thrive.
“If we ever want this list of names to stop growing, we must be open to challenging the attitudes and behaviours which enable abuse,” she said.
The 24 names of the women lost to femicide in Northern Ireland were read aloud, with a candle laid for each one.
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