Proclamation
Municipalities mark Sexual Assault Awareness Month
It’s been more than 30 years, but Shannon MacInnis still fights back tears when talking about his old classmate.
He wept for the boy who was sexually assaulted by a teacher and later killed himself, as he joined his fellow local politicians in re-signing the proclamation on sexual violence at Glasgow Square Tuesday.
“We didn’t know it was even happening,” said MacInnis of his old classmate.
Now serving as Trenton’s mayor, MacInnis believes education and awareness about sexual violence is key, but he still fears for his daughters’ safety.
It was a timely reminder as people in Pictou County join others worldwide in marking April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“You can only protect them so much,” he said.
The proclamation’s resigning comes at a time when the worldwide #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have started to turn the tide against perpetrators of sexual violence.
The #MeToo movement was sparked last fall when women made allegations of sexual assault against Hollywood media mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is now being investigated by police.
Since then, the #MeToo movement has toppled a number of celebrities and politicians worldwide, including in Nova Scotia.
Earlier this year, outgoing Progressive Conservative leader
Jamie Baillie was forced to resign suddenly after being accused of inappropriate behaviour.
However, rates of sexual violence in Canada have remained unchanged since 1999, according to Shelley Curtis-Thompson, who runs the Pictou County Women’s Resource and Sexual Assault Centre.
“If you identify as a girl [or] a woman, there is an 80 per cent chance you will experience sexual violence in your lifetime,” CurtisThompson said in her speech at Glasgow Square. “This is an epidemic. It is more likely that our daughters will be sexually assaulted than not.”
According to Curtis-Thompson, such violence is rooted in inequality and is used by abusers
as a tool of power over those they see as weaker.
She said sexual violence makes up 33 per cent of all crimes committed against Indigenous women and girls.
In Nova Scotia, a separate inquiry is looking into crimes committed at the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children. Between its opening in 1921 and the 1980s, residents suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse from the staff.
“Survivors have reported feelings of helplessness, isolation, systemic neglect, silence and stigma and a desire to make a difference as adults,” said CurtisThompson. “We need to speak about these truths if we are ever to move towards healing.”