'Silence is not protection. It's permission': Alleged femicide victim's mother attends Shine the Light campaign launch

Speaking out against human trafficking A campaign that seeks to shine a light on violence against women launched today, CTV London's Gerry Dewan reports.

The kick-off to the 15th annual London Abused Women's Centre's 'Shine the Light' campaign was held Friday morning at the agency’s headquarters.

The focus of this year’s campaign is on ending human trafficking and femicide.

Fartumo Kuzow addressed the gathering. She believes silence is the enemy and helped contribute to the death of her daughter, Sahra Bulle, “Silence is not protection. It's a permission, and every time we keep silent, we're signing the dotted line on that permission slip given to the perpetrator."

36-year-old Bulle, a Windsor native, was reported missing in late May of 2023. Her body was discovered on June 6, 2023.

Bulle's estranged husband, Michigan resident Brian Aaron Marbury, was charged with first degree murder around the same time.

Kuzow said her daughter had made it to a woman's shelter after years of abuse, but she knew Sahra was still at risk. She feared the worst when she tried to reach out to her shortly before she was reported missing, “Her phone was registered under my name for safety reasons, and her find my phone app had been disabled and her G.P.S. had been disabled."

According to Kuzow, police, health care professionals and agencies focused on partner abuse knew of the threat Sahra faced – however, privacy policies paralyzed efforts to save her from her abuser, "I have come to the realization that even I played a part in that silence because I wanted to protect my daughter's privacy. She didn't want her siblings to know, her cousins to know, her aunts and uncles to know. I didn't want to betray her trust."

This year’s shine the light campaign is dedicated to Bulle and to 19-year-old St. Catherines native Samantha Lambert who was found dead near Welland in 2019. Police and family members believe Lambert had fallen victim to a human trafficking ring. LAWC Executive Director Jenn Dunn said her agency dealt with more than 320 cases of human trafficking in the last year alone, "We need to continue working together with all levels of government, all community organizations, to make real change."

The focus of the campaign is on the 401, with London part of a trafficking network that runs along that corridor.

Dunn said there is a suite of tools being developed to try and combat human trafficking along the 401 that includes better training for service workers – with the focus on hotel, motel and restaurant employees. It would help them identify and safely report concerning behaviors that may be linked to trafficking.

Dunn told CTV News, "There's a lot of different campaigns across the country that are doing this kind of work. There's a huge campaign in Alberta called ‘Not In My City’ that does work specifically with airports to spread the message."

Samantha Lambert's mother, Yvonne, will take part in the Shine the Light tree lighting event next Friday, November 1. That is also the day when buildings across the city will light up purple.

The awareness campaign will hold its Wear Purple Day on November 15.