Today is National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women: a time to commemorate those who have lost their lives as a result of gender-based violence.

As a society, we have come a long way in addressing these issues, but there is much left to do and learn.

Gender-based violence is still prevalent, and, overwhelmingly, the victims tend to be women and girls. According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, it accounts for more death and disability among women than the combined effects of cancer, malaria, traffic injuries and war.

The abuse can take many forms: sexual, physical, emotional, labour exploitation, discrimination, etc. It impacts not only the victims, but also those who witness the abuse, often young children.

It’s a public safety issue, a public health issue and a human rights issue, so the cumulative effect of gender-based violence touches all of us. As a University and as a society, we must work to eliminate it using education, awareness and compassion.

Here at U of G, we can improve understanding by initiating and promoting research that looks into the root causes of such violence, including abuse of power, misdirected anger, and issues of both women's and men's roles and identities.

We can also encourage open dialogues both in and outside the classroom about the prevalence of such crimes and the harm they cause.

We can support community initiatives aimed at helping victims of gender-based abuse. We can continue programs such as the Women's Campus Safety Initiatives, which fund education, programs and services on women's safety, sexual harassment and violence against women.

Our faculty, staff and students can serve as mentors and role models for girls and young women, and encourage them strive for success in any field that interests them, whether it's science and engineering, medicine, or arts and social sciences.

And, above all, we must work together and as individuals to ensure that all men and women understand that gender-based violence has no place anywhere — on our campus, in our community, and in our country.

So today, I encourage all of you to do some personal reflecting and think about the actions that each of us can take to help prevent gender-based violence. However, make this a commitment not just for one day but for the rest of the year.