Carleton is seeing an increase in discussions around sexual assault and harassment and using resources in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
The #MeToo movement, created by social activist Tarana Burke and popularized on Twitter by American actress Alyssa Milano, has been credited with starting a more nuanced dialogue about sexual harassment and assault in the workplace in the wake of a wave of accusations in Hollywood, in political circles, and on social media.
Holly Smith, one of the co-ordinators of the Womyn’s Centre at Carleton, said she is seeing this trend firsthand.
“We are seeing a massive increase of people talking more openly [about sexual violence],” she said.
While she has facilitated more peer support this semester than in the fall term, Smith said she is unsure if #MeToo is behind the centre’s busy schedule.
Smith said the Womyn’s Centre supports Our Turn, a student-led task force to combat sexual violence on campus through “prevention, advocacy and support.” So far, the Womyn’s Centre has trained over 800 students in bystander intervention workshops, something Smith said she hopes will “have a ripple effect over time.”
An executive from the Carleton Sexual Assault Support Line said it would be difficult to tell whether the #MeToo movement was the reason behind an increase in phone calls.
“Our volunteers are all on the phones independently, and we have a confidentiality obligation regarding callers and their stories,” they said in an email.
In addition to these services, sexual assault survivors can turn to Carleton’s Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS). Bailey Reid, an equity advisor and sexual assault support co-ordinator at SASS, said in an email that one in three women and one in six men will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. She said #MeToo seems to have impacted how sexual violence is treated at Carleton.
“[#MeToo] appears to have increased opportunities for discussion regarding sexual violence, that may not have occurred otherwise,” she said. “Having #MeToo in the social consciousness has allowed us to push forward this conversation on campus too.”
This surge in survivors seeking out services goes beyond Carleton’s campus.
According to CBC Ottawa, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre (ORCC) is struggling to handle an influx in the amount of calls from sexual violence survivors in the wake of the movement. Meanwhile, the Toronto Star reported that the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre has received about twice as many calls as usual since October.
Reid said the movement is just the start of fully addressing sexual violence.
“Ongoing training and public education initiatives are important to shifting the culture on campuses, and student engagement,” she said.
Photo by Aaron Hemens
