Waves of Change: Creating Campus Responses to Sexualized Violence

20/02/2019

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Disclosure Tips

Listen: give folks the space they need to speak. You can affirm that they are not alone and that you believe them, but try not to give a lot of suggestions or rant on their behalf.

Respect: respect their right to privacy. Do not dig for info or ask for specific details. Ask if there is anything you can do, but respect their decisions if the answer is no.

Don’t Judge: try not to judge people’s coping styles, decisions they made while handling tough situations or their decisions on how to move forward. People know best what they need, and it is okay if their decisions are different than the ones you would choose.

20/02/2019

" Holding perpetrators accountable could change the trajectories of people’s lives, limiting the harm and number of victims. Such accountability can take a variety of forms, depending on the offense, but if the abuser faces no repercussions, the cycle of assault will continue."

When it comes to supporting victims of sexual assault, belief is not enough

18/01/2019

Fans have defended Kelly and criticized his accusers. The backlash illustrates how black girls face harsh skepticism when revealing trauma in a society that effectively erases their girlhood.

21/12/2018

Some student/survivor activists might want to participate in this anonymous survey from Students for Consent Culture Canada:

Are you doing anti-sexual violence work on your campus? Have you been talked down to / dismissed / attacked by university/college admin for doing this work? Yeah, us to! In an attempt to show the reality of what doing this work behind closed doors and outside of the media looks like, Students for Co...

28/11/2018

When we fight to end sexualized violence, we are also fighting to end hazing. When we encourage survivors to speak out, we are also encouraging these players to speak out.

Former NHL tough guy Dan Carcillo has spoken out about an alleged hazing he endured as an Ontario Hockey League rookie, detailing how as a 17-year-old he was bullied by his Sarnia Sting teammates.

23/11/2018

The average number of police-reported sexual assaults spiked in Canada after the emergence of the movement last fall — but that hasn't led to an increase in criminal charges.

23/11/2018

Beautiful and important piece

Writer Arielle Twist: "I am afraid of not surviving. But I am not afraid of admitting to the fact that I ache for a love that can defy that reality of violence."

23/11/2018

Important to write to our Prime Minister [email protected] to share your concern with the proposed amendment to BillC51 addressing sexual assault in the criminal code.

As LEAF writes " Consent must be voluntary, informed, and meaningful. Bare consciousness cannot be enough to be capable of providing it."

On November 14, 2018, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould supporting Senator Kim Pate’s proposed amendment to Bill C-51. This amendment would pr...

20/11/2018

TW: Descriptions of sexualized violence

Really important article that shows how perpetrators are able to use the "Nice Guy" image and how victims are pressured to be silent.

"It has by the fall of 2018 become commonplace to describe the 499 known victims of Larry Nassar as “breaking their silence,” though in fact they were never, as a group, particularly silent. Over the course of at least 20 years of consistent abuse, women and girls reported to every proximate authority. They told their parents. They told gymnastics coaches, running coaches, softball coaches. They told Michigan State University police and Meridian Township police. They told physicians and psychologists. They told university administrators. They told, repeatedly, USA Gymnastics. They told one another. Athletes were interviewed, reports were written up, charges recommended. The story of Larry Nassar is not a story of silence."

Everyone believed the predatory trainer who may have just brought down USA Gymnastics.

02/11/2018

When you hear comments that blame victim, speak up so others know you don't agree.