Purple doors in downtown Toronto raising awareness about femicide, intimate partner violence

Purple doors are popping up in Nathan Phillips Square this weekend to raise awareness about a growing issue in Ontario, and Canada, that often remains hidden.

Behind Closed Doors is a new campaign intended to bring attention to the prevalence of gender-based violence and femicide. 

The installation features bold messages and statistics printed on the purple doors in the public square, including how one of the deadliest places a woman can be is behind closed doors.

The organizer behind the piece says it's all about raising awareness about a deadly issue that persists.

"We want to take this, the ultimate manifestation of violence against women, that's often hidden behind closed doors, and open the door to start conversations about addressing and ending femicide," said Marissa Kokkoros, executive director of Aura Freedom International, the organization behind the campaign.

Kokkoros says the campaign is a play on Doors Open, returning to Toronto this weekend, which gives people a behind-the-scenes look at some of the city's famous buildings.

The installation also comes shortly after police labelled the alleged homicide of a 25-year-old woman in Kingston this month a femicide. It was the first time Kingston police had used the term to describe an alleged crime.

Femicide is defined as "the killing of one or more females, primarily by males, because they are female," by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice. According to the organization, last year, 73 women were victims of alleged femicide in Ontario.

"Femicide, unfortunately, is on the rise. It's increased about 20 per cent since 2019, so it's definitely not a thing of the past. It's definitely still happening," Kokkoros said.

Gender-based violence declared epidemic in Toronto

In 2023, the city of Toronto declared gender-based violence an epidemic, something the province hasn't done. Coun. Lily Cheng, who attended the first day of the installation Saturday, says that's unfortunate, because gender-based violence affects women across Ontario.

"We should be working together across different levels of government," she said.

Asked in November whether the province would follow suit, Premier Doug Ford told CBC Toronto that Ontario is "100 per cent behind making sure there's no violence against women," though he didn't explain why it was taking so long to declare an epidemic.

Kokkoros says even though it's a symbolic gesture, it's an important step for the province to take.

"It matters because then once you declare it, you have to treat it as a public health emergency," she said. "And when a woman is murdered every two days in Canada, we do think that's an emergency."

As part of the Behind Closed Doors campaign, organizers are encouraging people to tie purple ribbons to their own doors this weekend, as a reminder of how big an issue gender-based violence still is. The installation will be up all weekend.