As the issues of sexual violence and assault become more openly discussed, there has been an increase in people coming forward with their stories and seeking support in more public spaces, including university campuses and the greater Ottawa area.
Initiated by grassroot activist, Tarana Burke, the #MeToo movement has been effective for more than a decade since Burke coined the phrase in 2006 as a way to identify with women who experience sexual violence.
Last October, the hashtag resurfaced to become the forefront of the anti-sexual harassment movement, now a trending topic on social media, like Twitter, due to allegations of sexual assault involving Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The hashtag quickly became a catalyst for more ‘coming out’ stories related to sexual assault and harassment, supported by thousands of social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This included attention given to the #TimesUp campaign, a movement to spread awareness about women’s rights and sexual harassment. Oprah Winfrey, in her 2018 Golden Globe speech, highlighted these movements.
Amina Doreh, the public education co-ordinator at the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) in Ottawa, said she thinks the Weinstein case played a big part in why these movements have become so popular.
“I think that was definitely the catalyst of getting people to have the conversation and it opened the door for more people to come forth,” she said.
Sexual Violence in Canada
According to Statistics Canada’s 2014 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety, 22 incidents of sexual assault were reported for every 1,000 Canadians age 15 and older. In total, this means that approximately 636,000 self-reported incidents of sexual assault occurred across Canada during this time period.
Doreh added that since the fall of 2017, when the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements started gaining steam, there have been more people calling the SASC. She said there’s been a particular increase in people calling who personally know a survivor or perpetuator, and are looking for more information on the issue.
“We’ve seen a 10 per cent increase in the volume of calls that we’ve been getting, [and] a 30 per cent increase in our individual support,” she said.
Statistics Canada showed in their 2014 report that young, Indigenous, single, and homosexual or bisexual people were the most at risk of sexual violence, along with those who suffered from poor mental health.
Individuals who had certain experiences, such as childhood abuse and homelessness, also had a higher risk of sexual assault.
Creating safe spaces
Komal Minhas, Carleton University alumni and business professional, emphasized the need to create spaces for the less visible to amplify their suppressed voices.
Minhas also described how she, as a woman of colour, uses her position of influence to support women within her community and others who struggle to be seen and heard, especially when it comes to sexual violence.
“It’s a big part of the brand I’m building and a big part of who I am just as a person, to create spaces for individuals who don’t often get to be heard. It definitely is something I’m very passionate about continuing to champion and just hold space for,” she said.
Bailey Reid, the sexual assault services co-ordinator and equity advisor at Carleton’s Department of Equity Services, said that the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have been reflected on campuses.
Most recently, the Student Voices on Sexual Violence Survey was initiated by the provincial government through the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities, to gain a better understanding of sexual violence in universities.
“It is critical in this time that we provide support to survivors who are being triggered by the media every day or are coming to terms with something that happened to them through the experiences of others,” Reid said in an email. “Carleton is committed to providing a safe place for survivors to disclose their experience, and making sure they can access support and resources they need,” Reid said.
Social media and feminism
Reid also said that the development of social media has become a tool for women to connect with each other, and share their experiences. Social media platforms have also played a big part in how the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have become so popular.
“Social media has given us an incredible space to support one another, share our traumas, and let survivors know that they are not alone. We haven’t had a space like this before, and it’s exciting,” she said. “That being said, I think it needs to shift from survivors always having to lay out their stories in order for society to take action on sexual violence. We need to simply believe survivors, whether it be one survivor or 100.”
Moving forward, Minhas said that these movements need to be more inclusive by creating spaces for marginalized groups who have experienced sexual violence.
She said we all have a role to play in pushing these movements for equal rights forward.
“It’s really important that those of us with relative privilege do not get too focused on our own contexts, instead, we need to be reaching out to those with less access to platforms and resources,” she said. “We also need to be making more space for trans and gender non-binary perspectives of the issue of sexual violence.”
Amplifying the voices of the unheard
Ummni Khan, joint chair in women’s studies and associate professor in the department of law and legal studies at Carleton, emphasized how #MeToo, and #TimesUp have grown to focus on violence against women and sexual violence in the workplace, more than domestic issues.
“We can contextualize the #MeToo movement within the broader historical feminist movement that raised awareness and advocated for analysis, legal reforms, shelters and activism responding to violence against women,” she said in an email. “The specific focus at that time being rape and domestic violence, #MeToo continues in this movement by demonstrating the many ways that sexualized violence continues in many spaces, including at work.”
On the other hand, Khan also noted that one of the main criticisms of these movements, is its lack of intersectionality.
Intersectionality in feminism pertains to the inclusion of people with intersecting social identities.
In the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Khan said coloured, LGBTQ+, and other diverse voices have been left out of sharing their stories.
Although the prominence of certain celebrities has been helpful to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Khan said it contributed to the suppression of certain voices, especially among groups of people who are most prone to sexual violence.
“I worry that those with the most privilege [white, cisgender, heterosexual] may be getting the most air time, and we forget how people who face intersectional oppression are more vulnerable in terms of sexual violence, and less likely to have effective responses,” Khan said.
She added that many survivors are unable to engage in the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements because of a number of barriers, including language, access to technology or disabilities.
Khan said the key to moving forward is to make sure everyone’s voices, no matter their identity or privilege, are being heard.
“We need to understand that not everyone who experiences sexual violence is interested in engaging in these kinds of social media movements, and frankly, some survivors do not have the privilege to do so,” she said. “We need to think always about who is being excluded . . . and try to come up with multiple strategies.”
Graphic by Manoj Thayalan
