Media Releases

“Statistics have shown that the majority of victims of sexual violence are women and girl children. Yet the province of Ontario has invested millions of dollars to provide gender neutral services that lump all ‘victims’ together and ties them into a criminal justice system that provides some opportunities but does not meet their core needs. Survivors of sexual violence and their allies have repeatedly gone on record stating that community based, gender sensitive services that do not force survivors into a relationship with the criminal justice system are a necessity, not an option” ;said Paula Broeders, Outreach Coordinator of Kenora Sexual Assault Centre.

“The OCRCC and our allies have been advocating on the behalf of survivors of sexual violence to ensure that the needs of survivors of sexual violence do not go unmet and that acknowledgement of the systemic violence that women and girls face is not gender neutral. Thirty years later we are still waiting for the government of Ontario to take sexual violence seriously by defining it as a priority with all levels of government in the province, commit ting adequate resources for the prevention of sexual violence and ensuring that gender sensitive community based services are readily available to thousands of sexual violence survivors that need support”; said Marilyn Oladimeji, President of the OCRCC.

“Mr. Mc Guinty we want you as the Premier of Ontario to take a leadership role and recognize sexual violence as an ever present reality for women and girls, that cannot be adequately addressed by the criminal justice system or blanketed over under the domestic violence campaign”; said Ghislaine Siros of Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes (AOCVF)

2) We demand adequate funds to provide accessible, gender sensitive services to survivors of sexual violence, with recognition that the vast majority victims are women and girls.

3) We demand that the province of Ontario recognize that sexual violence is not a gender neutral crime. Sexual violence is an act of aggression that is perpetrated by individuals and is a systemic form of violence that routinely victimizes women and girls.

4) We demand that the OCRCC is recognized as leaders in bringing the issues of sexual violence to the forefront over the last three decades and that we are recognized as leaders in the development of an anti-sexual violence strategy and provided the resources to develop a multi level, cross sectoral, inter disciplinary anti sexual violence strategy.

Paula Broeders, Outreach Coordinator of Kenora Sexual Assault Centre said, “Premier Mc Guinty, take the first step, listen to our demands and commit to working with us to stop sexual violence in Ontario. Premier Mc Guinty we call on you and the government of Ontario to acknowledge that sexual violence is a distinct issue that warrants an adequately funded anti-sexual violence strategy that includes an increase in the number of sexual assault and rape crisis centers accessible to under served and marginalized communities!”

For more information contact: Marilyn Oladimeji, President, Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres

416-597-1171 x 224

Toronto- May is Sexual Assault Prevention month and the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC) encourage the people of Ontario to reflect on the harsh realities girls and women often face. Girls and women face the greatest risk of sexual assault from men they know, not strangers. A 2003 Statistics Canada report stated that most 69% of women who are sexually assaulted are sexually assaulted by men known to them; dates, an acquaintance, boyfriends, marital partners, friends, family members or neighbours.

A Statistics Canada 2004 report revealed that most abusers are male and most people who experience sexual assault are female. In 2002, children and youth accounted for 61% of sexual assault cases reported to a subset of 94 police departments. Girls represented 79% of those cases.

“Statistics dispel the myth that sexual violence is committed by a few random sick men roaming the street, the truth is that girls and women experience sexual violence from males that are familiar to them, males they often respect or have been conditioned to trust. Of all incidents reported to police 24% took place in the persons home, 20 % took place in the perpetrators home, 10% in someone else’s home, 25% in a car and 21% in a public place. Many girls and women state that they do not report sexual violence to the police due to feelings of humiliation, threats from the perpetrator and fear of further victimization at the hands of the criminal justice system that has a poor track record of delivering justice on behalf of victims of sexual violence. According to Statistics Canada, only 6% of all sexual assaults are reported to police. Only 1% of women who have been sexually assaulted by an acquaintance report the incident to police.” said Kripa Sekhar; Executive Director of South Asian Women Center.

“The rate of sexual abuse of girls with disabilities is four times the national average. Disabled and poor women are often forced to endure sexual violence at the hands of caregivers, partners and family members to avoid homelessness, being labeled ‘crazy, liars or unfit’, perpetrators usually use these labels to force poor women and disabled women into doctors offices to be medicated and seek to pathologize and institutionalize women to destroy their credibility which leads to further victimization because they are now at risk for having their children apprehended by the government, the impact is compounded when racism, poverty, immigration status and disability are present simultaneously.

Women of Colour are also vulnerable to sexual assault because of racist sexual stereotypes; these stereotypes often mean that survivors do not receive equal access to helpful media coverage, police investigations and the courts. For example in 2004 Amnesty International confirmed that racist and sexist attitudes towards aboriginal women in Canada continue to make them vulnerable to sexual assault. Over the past 20 years over 500 aboriginal women across Canada have gone missing many brutally murdered and sexually assaulted with little effort expended by government officials to investigate or apprehend perpetrators, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) organized the Sisters in Spirit campaign to bring concrete action to rectify this deeply rooted wrong” said Marilyn Oladimeji, President of the OCRCC.

Oladimeji, said, “Premier Mc Guinty, May is recognized as Sexual Assault Prevention month , it is an opportunity to encourage people living in Ontario to take individual and collective action towards ending sexual violence. As Public Educators we call on you Premier to declare sexual violence important enough to warrant a province wide strategy led by the needs of survivors who are demanding collective responsibility from the government and the community at large to hold perpetrators accountable for their behaviours. We need you to listen and to act now. Work with us and make a commitment to prevent further sexual violence by implementing solutions that recognize this as a gender inequality issue. Any strategies created must include the complexities and realities of women and girl’s lives. The statistics are clear we need solutions that recognize that the majority of sexual violence takes place in homes, neighborhoods and workplaces where we are supposed to be safe!”

416-597-1171 x 224

Kripa Sekhar, Executive Director, South Asian Women’s Centre

416 537 2276 ext 22

Sadia Gassim, Public Educator of the Kitchener Waterloo Sexual Assault Centre stated that “Common myths about bullying prevail such as; bullying is a ‘normal’ part of childhood, that bullying is a problem for schools and teachers, bullies grow out of their aggressive behaviour and that bullying is a problem only experienced by children and youth. These myths create havens for fostering unhealthy behaviour. Bullying is not ‘normal’, nor is it limited to schools or young children and often bullies do not ‘grow out of it’. Bullying is a form of violence that occurs among children, youth and adults and incorporates multiple forms of violence. Childhood bullies often continue there aggressive behaviour into adulthood and continue to victimize others.”

The Canada Safety Council also recognizes the link between childhood/youth bullies and the long term implications, “schoolyard bullying and workplace bullying…represent a grab for control by an insecure, inadequate person, an exercise of power through the humiliation of the target. School bullies …grow up to be dominating adults. When they join the work force, they continue to bully others.”

Wendy Craig has been conducting research on bullying for 10 years and is one of Canada’s experts said, “So if you’re bullying regularly, frequently in elementary school, you’re at high risk for drug and alcohol use at an early age, a high risk for early dating, a high risk for perpetrating date violence in your first romantic relationship….” Craig warns that bullying behaviour must be recognized and constructively dealt with as early as possible.

“When people of any age experience a sense of power and control loss in some aspect of their life they will go out and look for it. That’s why we find that kids that are bullies are typically being bullied in a different arena” said Cindi Seddon, school principal and author on books about bullying.

Marilyn Oladimeji, President of the OCRCC says, “Premier Mc Guinty must acknowledge that bullying occurs among children and adults. ‘Zero tolerance’ policies in schools often shift the site of bullying related violence into unsupervised common community spaces such as recreational areas/playgrounds. Mr. Mc Guinty, girls and women often experience sexual violence such as sexual harassment and rape at the hands of bullies of all ages. We call on Premier Mc Guinty and his government to address the underlying causes and outcomes of bullying; that bullying has deep roots, it isn’t a ‘simple’ one to one or ‘mob reaction’ to an ‘unpopular’ person and co-develop informed community based solutions that recognize the intersectionality of marginalized individuals and violence. Premier, work with us and community based groups to develop policies and tools for victims and perpetrators of bullying, by providing systemic and individual supports for victims and resources for recovery of perpetrators that improve the quality of life for our communities and inform Ontarians of all ages of their responsibility to intervene.”

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