A  Toronto Star article on the Montreal Massacre of Dec. 6, 1989, and current violence against women features Dr. Myrna Dawson in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences.

A sociology professor, Dawson is the founder and leader of the Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. Its recent report found that killings of women and girls have risen both in Canada and around the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Repeated lockdowns during the pandemic, Dawson said, likely exacerbated the violence some women and children were already living with.

“A key contributor to male violence against women is gender inequality, and the pandemic has significantly increased inequality,” she said.

Dawson’s research focuses on trends and patterns in and social/legal responses to violence against women and femicide.