Donate in memory of Charlie and in support of children and youth staying at our shelter, Marianne’s Place by clicking here.
You are invited to join us on Wednesday May 13th at 7pm at Franchetto Park (24 Franchetto Boulevard, Guelph) for a candlelight vigil to honour Charlie Hesselink, who was killed by his father in an act of femicide in 2022.
We’ll gather at Charlie’s memorial tree along the pathway in Franchetto Park for brief remarks, some solidarity and a moment of silence to commemorate Charlie.
We hope this event gives folks an opportunity both to mourn the loss of a child to violence and to mark the day by taking action against violence in our community, whether they knew Charlie or not.
Masks are required for this event and will be provided. This is an outdoor event, so please be mindful of the weather.
For those who are unable to make it in person, the event will be livestreamed on the G-W Women in Crisis Facebook page.
If you can’t make the event but feel moved to take action and support survivors, you can consider donating to G-W Women in Crisis. A donation page has been set up in Charlie’s name to help the kids who come to stay at our intimate partner violence shelter, Marianne’s Place.
Donate in memory of Charlie Hesselink
We ask that people respect Charlie’s mother’s wishes and avoid attending if they attended Charlie’s father’s funeral.
Femicide and Familicide
You might be wondering why we use the term femicide in the context of Charlie’s death. The Gender-Based Violence Learning Network tells us that:
Femicide is the killing of women and girls because of their sex and gender. This term explicitly highlights the ways that women and girls are targeted due to gender oppression and marginalization.
They explain that in cases of femicide, collateral victims, of any gender, may be targeted:
Femicide may additionally include secondary or ‘collateral’ victims where further individuals of any gender are killed in addition to or instead of the women or girl. For instance, a son, new partner, or service provider.
Charlie’s death should also be considered in the context of familicide:
Familicide, also a gendered crime, has received minimal attention in comparison, particularly in Canada. Research demonstrates that familicide is almost exclusively perpetrated by males and typically involves the killing of two or more family members, often a current or former female partner and at least one biological child or stepchild (Familicide in Canada, 2010 to 2019).
It’s critical that we keep these contexts in mind as we reflect on Charlie’s death. This knowledge empowers us to understand and move towards dismantling the systems and structures that enabled his death and continue to enable violence against women, gender-diverse people and their children.
