Dressed in symbolic colours and holding neon placards and photographs, dozens took to the street on Sunday night, honouring Edmonton's missing and murdered women.

The 5th annual memorial march mirrored events held in seven other cities across Canada, drawing attention to violence against females.

"The important thing is not to forget the women who have died," said event organizer Danielle Boudreau.

She tells CTV News 131 Edmonton women have either been murdered or gone missing – among them, two friends she grew up with.

"In the beginning [the march] was to memorialize my two friends…and two weeks after I did the first march my younger stepsister was murdered.

"And so it became something personal for me."

Boudreau says the purpose of the march is to help the community rally around people who are grieving horrific loss.

"People… don't understand what it's like to lose somebody that way, they don't want to ask questions but yet they're so curious. They don't want to overstep their boundaries so they just basically don't say nothing at all," explained Boudreau.

Unlike the Stolen Sisters' Vigil held each summer, Sunday's memorial walk did not focus only on women deemed to be vulnerable to violence.

"It's not exclusive to high-risk lifestyles nor is it exclusive to aboriginal women," said Boudreau, who claims domestic violence and women-against-women murders were also acknowledged during the event.

Participants were asked to wear red or purple during the event, representing their love for the victims and the fact they regard the women as royalty.