‘It can happen to anyone’: Windsor walk honours Sahra Bulle, calls for action on IPV

Sahra Bulle’s mother, Fartumo Kusow, and brother, Abdi Bulle, reflect on the lessons learned from Sahra’s death during the Walk To End Silence on Oct. 4, 2025.

Dozens gathered in Windsor’s Jackson Park on Saturday morning to turn grief into action, taking part in the second annual Walk to End Silence — a community event honouring Sahra Bulle and others lost to intimate partner violence across Canada.

The event, organized by the Sahra Bulle Foundation, aims to honour lives lost and empower survivors and supporters to raise their voices against gender-based violence.

Police and local prosecutors say Bulle is a victim of intimate partner violence.

47-year-old Brian Marbury of Michigan is currently on trial for Bulle’s death.

He has pleaded guilty to causing an indignity to a human body, but not guilty to first-degree murder. Closing arguments will be heard Monday.

For Fartumo Kusow, the foundation’s founder and Bulle’s mother, Saturday’s walk is a public stand against silence — a reflection on how secrecy and stigma can isolate victims of abuse.

“It was silence that kept my daughter in the shadows and kept a lot of women struggling with this kind of violence,” she said.

“At the time, I thought I was respecting her privacy. But later, I realized silence is almost like giving permission for the harm to continue.”

Kusow said her daughter’s story reflects a broader pattern — one that can be predicted and, with community awareness, prevented.

“If something is pervasive and we can predict it, then we can prevent it,” she said.

“It’s within us to hold ourselves and our policymakers accountable so this is prevented before we bury another young woman.”

In her remarks, Kusow also expressed frustration that the Ontario government has not yet declared intimate partner violence an epidemic — a step she believes would acknowledge the scale of the crisis.

“In 2025, it’s tragic that we’re still asking our government to simply acknowledge it as an epidemic,” she said.

“We haven’t even gotten to the point of asking for funding or prevention efforts. We’re just asking them to recognize it exists. That tells you how vulnerable women and girls still are, and how their safety isn’t being prioritized.”

Abdi Bulle, Sahra’s younger brother, said the walk represents a way for the family to turn pain into purpose.

“We’re all close like siblings, so we were shocked,” he said, adding he’s one of more than two dozen cousins who grew up together as part of a large, tight-knit family.

“You start thinking maybe I should have been there more, maybe I could have done something different. But you realize this isn’t just a family problem — it’s an epidemic.”

He said the loss has underscored how easily silence can spread within families and communities.

“My sister was loved by so many people — cousins, friends, co-workers,” he said.

“It shows how far-reaching the impact is. You always hope someone would reach out if they’re in trouble, but shame and fear make people hide what’s happening. That’s why we need to talk about it, out loud, as a community.”

He hopes the walk encourages others to check in with loved ones and take early warning signs seriously.

“If this can happen in a family as big and as close as ours, it can happen to anyone,” he said.

Among those walking was Carson Mizzi, who shared how his mother’s experience with abuse shaped his understanding of empathy and masculinity.

“She taught me to rely on myself, but also to be emotionally intelligent and to listen,” Mizzi said.

“It’s nowhere near as easy as people think. You can’t say what you’d do unless you’ve been there. All we can do is listen and help with what they need.”

He said ending violence requires men to take responsibility for changing attitudes — not just expecting women to protect themselves.

Saturday’s walk began with a sharing circle and drum ceremony, followed by a symbolic route through the park. Organizers said each step represented a voice raised for someone who can no longer speak.

“Every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner,” Kusow said.

“Every step is a voice raised for those who can no longer speak — because silence is not protection. Silence is permission.”