WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT- This story contains mention of sexual assault. Those in need of support can call the Ottawa Distress Centre Crisis Line: 613-238-3311 or the Carleton Sexual Assault Support Centre: 613-520-5622.
“Your story deserves space. Your voice deserves to shake, or boom or whatever else you need to be heard. Tonight, our collective voices are the melody in the symphony of hope. And I’ll be damn sure that I sing on key,” Dahlia Belfer, a poet and Carleton fourth-year social work student, said at Ottawa’s Take Back the Night protest on Sept. 21.
She shared her spoken word prose as part of the protest’s opening speeches, which rallied against sexual and gender-based violence. For artists Belfer and N’nerjie, the rally presented an opportunity to empower survivors, encourage body-centred healing and ensure all voices are heard.
The evening began in Minto Park, where speakers unified a crowd of protestors with presentations and chants. As coral skies faded into darkness, protestors marched through the downtown core, raising rally signs and shouting slogans such as, “Our bodies! Our lives! We won’t be victimized!”
N’nerjie, a local singer-songwriter and protest speaker, said the solidarity at Take Back the Night was impactful for survivors.
“You can feel very alone in these experiences, so to look next to you and know that maybe that person can understand you just a little bit is huge,” they told the Charlatan.
According to Statistics Canada, approximately 39 per cent of all women aged 15 and older have experienced violence outside of a relationship, and 44 per cent of women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Those risks are higher for individuals in the 2SLGBTQ+ and disability communities.
Belfer, an advocate within the disabled community, said platforming disabled voices in conversations surrounding sexual and gender-based violence is crucial.
“Activism should not exclude the disabled population because if we are trying to raise this marginalized group of people, and we are actively making it not accessible for disabled folks, we shut them out,” she said. “We then shut out any type of support that we could provide.”
She added that internally-felt safety is vital for healing.
“Feeling safe in your body doesn’t need to be because your body is ‘abled.’ That safety doesn’t come with anything to do with how your body looks or works or is perceived. It’s entirely about your feeling of safety,” Belfer said.
“You have to be compassionate with yourself. You have to be willing to really sit with the body,” they said. “Rediscover that connection with self.”
During their speech, N’nerjie opened up about their experiences of childhood sexual abuse and navigating systemic injustices. She said events like Take Back the Night are paramount to sustaining hope and fighting for change.
“To the survivors that are here tonight, I want you to know that healing is possible. I want you to know that you can feel safe in your body again,” they said. “I want you to know that there are supports out there [and] spaces for you—people who are willing to listen to your story.”
The musician explained her life story is integral to her artistic expression.
“My music is my truth and my stories. I’m always going to try to find a way to uplift and inspire people because even though I’ve experienced trauma, even though these things have happened, I’m still here, and I’m still going and I’m still fighting,” they said.
Since first picking up the pen as a young teenager, Belfer has used poetry as a route for personal reflection and emotional processing. The spoken word creative now shares her artistry publicly as a means for activism.
“I’ve always been a person who wanted to speak up when I felt that something was not okay. If we have the words to talk about [an issue], we then have the ability to take that issue head on,” she said.
Belfer added academic activism can often be isolating and inaccessible. She said the arts can bridge support for a cause.
“Art is a really good way to open that door. We discount the effect that art can have on change all the time,” Belfer said. “If we can give someone information in a way that allows them to feel connected to it … then all bets are off. We’ve got people. That’s what it takes to [generate] change.”
Nepean High School students and Take Back the Night protestors Nairi Adjenian and Annie Hume said hearing artists talk at the rally inspired their inner activists.
“The speeches were powerful, compelling and really sad, but it’s important to hear those stories. It felt empowering to march along and shout,” Hume said.
“It was brave of the people to speak,” Adjenian added.
Belfer said the cumulative support for Take Back the Night was “overwhelming,” adding her prose aimed to empower each attendee.
“Each person here tonight is a fighter, armed with their words and a pen,” she shared at the rally.
“Our bodies have been through more than their share. Our bodies are not broken. Our bodies are pride, and power, and pain and patience. Most of all, our bodies belong to us,” Belfer said.
Featured image by Kyra Vellinga/the Charlatan.
