If you ask a woman if she has ever been sexually assaulted, or felt she was in danger of being sexually assaulted, chances are very high that she will say yes. That is, of course, if she trusts you to actually listen and not judge.
So, in one way, it is not surprising that a new bill brought forward in B.C.’s legislature triggered personal stories of sexual assault or close calls.
MLA Kathy Corrigan’s story of an encounter that took place when she was 17 or 18 at UBC reveals just how far we’ve come, and also how little things have changed for women. (See story on today’s front page.)
UBC, close to 50 years after Corrigan went there, now has security posts, awareness posters and a sexual assault support centre. What was once never spoken about is now openly debated and has become part of a widening discussion about women’s safety on campuses. But 50 years after Corrigan’s encounter, men are still assaulting and intimidating women on campuses. Clearly, more has to be done.
Andrew Weaver’s new Bill 23 is part of the answer. The bill mandates that all public post-secondary institutions must have clear policies on handling sexual violence and intimidation.
Bill 23 gives post-secondary institutions until next May to fall in line.
UBC has just presented a new draft sexual assault policy that will be open to input over the summer.
Corrigan rightly wanted the legislation to cover private post-secondary institutions. Don’t women on all campuses deserve protection and a legitimate process as well?
The legislation also prompted Premier Christy Clark to go public with a memory dating back to when she was a young teenager in Burnaby. She was grabbed by a man and pulled into a bunch of shrubs. She managed to escape and she then continued on her way to work. She never told anyone.
The resources open to her decades ago were severely limited. And a complaint by a young person back then often resulted in that young person’s liberty being curtailed. If it wasn’t safe to go out at night, well, you just weren’t allowed to go out at night.
Today, thankfully, folks are less likely to blame women for attacks, and women are more likely to lodge complaints and refuse to stay housebound or university dorm-bound in fear.
Sadly, a culture of sexism still thrives and women still face assaults and threats. In fact, as we went to press with this paper, police were investigating alleged assaults at SFU.
But, inch by inch, women and men are moving society to where it needs to be: a place where all people – regardless of gender or sexuality – feel safe.
