Canadian-Sikh woman remembered in vigil to mark domestic violence victims

Toronto, Dec 28

A Canadian-Sikh woman, who was allegedly stabbed to death in October by her husband, was remembered along with 14 other victims of domestic violence this year in a vigil in the country's British Columbia province.

Kulwant Kaur, 46, was stabbed to death in her New Westminster home on October 13, following which police took husband Balvir Singh into custody and charged him with second-degree murder.

A group of people gathered at Robson Square Wednesday holding signs to honour the women victims between the age groups of 22 to 57, the CTV news channel reported.

Each sign had the name of one of the women killed as people holding them stood in stoic silence.

"They're white women, South Asian women, Indigenous women... Male violence against women is hurting all women," Hilla Kerner, a spokesperson for Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, told CTV News.

"We don't even have the full number... It's very hard to get clear information from the police," Kerner added.

At around 5 pm on October 14, officers of the New Westminster detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to the 200-block of Suzuki Street.

"On their arrival, the first responders found Kaur suffering from life-threatening injuries.

Despite life-saving efforts by the responding officers with support from the British Columbia Emergency Health Services, Kaur succumbed to her injuries.

Balvir was previously found guilty of uttering threats against Kaur and breaching a release order that he have no contact with her.

"If there are men that are known to be violent you have to find a way to monitor them, to supervise them because otherwise they will harm women,” said Kerner.

Kaur came to Canada in 2019 to give her son a better life and brighter future.

"I hope she's remembered for who she really was which was an amazing mom and an amazing person. And someone that tried so hard to give her kid a better life,” family friend Gulpreet Rai-Sangha told CTV News in an interview at the time.

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