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Abbotsford’s Kamaljit Sandhu among murdered women honoured in Vancouver femicide vigil

Sandhu’s husband remains in custody, but there are many undocumented cases of femicide, says group
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Several women gathered downtown Vancouver on Dec. 27 to honour the lives of women who were killed by their current or ex-partners in 2022. That included 45-year-old Kamaljit Sandhu of Abbotsford, whose husband remains in custody for first-degree murder. (Submitted photo)

The lives of 10 B.C. women, killed by men, were honoured in Vancouver Tuesday, including Abbotsford’s Kamaljit Sandhu.

Two dozen women stood holding signs with names of women who were killed by their partners or ex-partners in 2022.

Sandhu, 45, was killed on July 28 at her home in Abbotsford, and her husband remains in custody on a charge of first-degree murder. The couple had two children together. In August, a vigil was also held for Sandhu in Abbotsford, and attended by her family and friends as well as other community members.

Abbotsford Police say Kamaljit Sandhu was killed by her husband, who remains in custody. Earlier this year, a local vigil was held in her honour. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News file)

The vigil this week was organized by Vancouver Rape Relief, and they say there are likely many more victims that aren’t as widely known. Two of the women honoured at the vigil were from Chilliwack and were killed by the same man on the same day this year.

“There are more women who were killed by their male partner in the province this year, but it has been impossible to find the information because the police (haven’t) published who the victim was or that the man who killed her was her male partner,” said Hilla Kerner, spokeswoman for the group.

Kerner said one of the group’s demands is from the B.C.’s chief coroner “to publish a report any time a woman is murdered by her current or ex-male partner.”

Kerner added that the group is also “calling on the criminal justice system to properly monitor and supervise the whereabouts of men who pose risk to women” as half of the women who were killed by their male partner had a protection or no contact order in place.

“Women do not need meaningless bureaucratic mechanisms that leave them defenseless” Kerner said. “They need measures that secure their safety and protect their lives.”

The women held a sign for each of the murdered women, and displayed a banner that read ‘No more femicide.’ The list of women honoured was created by people at Vancouver Rape Relief by combing through news stories, police statements and court registry records.

The full list of women honoured in the vigil are:

• April Mary Monk, Fort St. James, B.C.

• Jian Ying Du “Angela”, Vancouver, B.C.

• Amber Culley, Chilliwack, B.C.

• Mimi Kates, Chilliwack, B.C.

• Kamaljit Sandhu, Abbotsford, B.C.

• Caroline Bernard, Bowser, B.C.

• Stephanie Jade Elk, Saanich, B.C.

• Patty Forman, Prince Rupert, B.C.

• Harpreet Kaur Gill, Surrey, B.C.

• Stephanie Forster, Coquitlam, B.C.

READ MORE: Man, 67, charged with 2017 murder of Abbotsford woman in Mission


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jessica.peters@abbynews.com

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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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