January 16, 2020. For immediate release
Women’s Wellness Within (WWW) is a registered non-profit organization that provides doula support, education and advocacy for criminalized women and trans/nonbinary individuals who are pregnant or parenting young children in Nova Scotia. WWW is a recognized leader in reproductive justice action across the province.
On January 15, a young single mother of two children ages 3 years old and 15 months reports she was racially profiled and accused of shoplifting in Walmart in Halifax. A staffperson called police. The young mother reports Halifax Regional Police force members brutalized her in front of her children. She has posted photos of her injuries to Facebook, including a black eye.
WWW request an immediate meeting with Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella. Racism and violence against women will not be tolerated. For several years now, Women’s Wellness Within has sought to advise Halifax Regional Police to appropriately treat women and nonbinary people with young children. Change is needed now.
A community demonstration in support of the young mother is planned for Friday, January 17 at 5 pm at the Mumford St. Walmart.
Imagine…. imagine being that woman who was shopping with her two small children. She did not leave the store with stolen goods even if she concealed them it’s not wrong until you leave the store! I have been a parent putting items in my stroller. She did nothing wrong until she was put in a situation that she had no choice but to defend herself. HRP releases a statement that she was charged with causing a disturbance…. WTF! I would beg someone to profile me and accuse me of stealing while still in a store, then leave marks on my body the way the marks were left on her—- IN FRONT—- of my small children! One would think a police officer would have better training to diffuse a situation. Now to release a statement that the officer had to be treated for minor injuries… come on! So HRP can now walk up to someone, antagonize them to the point they lose control, then charge them with causing a disturbance because they defended themselves. They didn’t walk up to anyone they walked up to a woman shopping with her young children. People need to be aware that this is a much bigger issue than that of Walmart and HRP… a series of bias and prejudice thoughts had to take place before the police were even called. If you’re someone who thinks that this was right- if that there was more to the story than just your opinions, enlighten me now. I’m raising my black daughters to be kind and accepting but this world is showing them that they are assumed to be thieves and a disturbance because the colour of their skin holds a stigma. There is nothing right about this, right down to this statement of stupidity released by HRP.