‘Generations of resilience’: Women march through downtown Barrie to Take Back the Night

“We need to tell these stories.”

That’s from Huronia Transition Homes’ acting executive director, Haily MacDonald on Thursday evening, moments before she and dozens of other women took to the streets in order to Take Back the Night.

The annual event to raise awareness of gender-based violence began with several speeches from survivors at the Barrie city hall rotunda, and capped off with a march through the downtown core. 

MacDonald said the stories shared are examples of a system that normalizes gender-based violence, and that everyone in attendance at the rally were there to “represent generations of resilience.”

Thursday’s Take Back the Night in Barrie was spearheaded by Huronia Transition Homes’ Athena Sexual Assault Centre.