Lately it seems that the hashtags me too and time’s up have inspired more sexual violence victims to share their stories, since allegations within politics have been coming in at a rapid speed. However, Fanshawe’s sexual violence prevention advisor, Leah Marshall, says that they haven’t specifically seen an increase in numbers of students seeking help, but that may also because their numbers were already high. “I think what’s important to acknowledge is sexual violence isn’t something that is all of a sudden happening, what’s happened is that this movement has opened up space for people to be able to talk about this in a more public way then maybe survivors were able to before.”
Marshall says that when she meets with students she makes sure that she reminds them that sharing their story is their choice and it is up to them to determine what is safest for them. “Some survivors may not feel that it’s safe to publicly share their story and that doesn’t take away from the fact that what happened to them is not okay and that we can’t still find supports in different ways.”
When we reflect on the allegations that have come forward, we are seeing a number of cases where individuals have gotten the concept of consent wrong. Marshall says “consent is an ongoing, enthusiastic conversation…because I say yes to one thing one day does not mean that that’s what I want tomorrow.” Marshall says that it’s important to remember to ask for consent in all interactions, whether you’re in a relationship or not. When reading allegations in the media, Marshall says “we need to acknowledge that survivors… any person has the right to change their mind, any person has the right to say what is okay and not okay for them. Coercion into sexual activity is still sexual assault, so it’s important to know the differences.”
In many instances, using politics as an example, women have come forward saying that they felt they needed to keep their assault a secret because they were worried about losing their jobs. XFM News asked Marshall how she helps students prepare for entering the workplace and understanding their rights within the workplace. She encourages students to review bill 168, know their HR representative and if their employer has a union, to know your union representative. She says it’s important to report even if you aren’t the victim but have witnessed assault or harassment adding “we’re asking for a cultural change, we’re asking for a safer world for individuals…”
