Petes urge respect for women, girls

The Peterborough Petes are hosting their annual OHL Onside event Thursday, highlighting respect for women and girls.

OHL Onside aims to increase the understanding and awareness of young players’ responsibility to show respect for girls and women.

The program stemmed from a training session between the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre and the Petes in 2014, after a Petes player was suspended for inappropriate comments to a woman on social media.

KSAC and the Sexual Assault Centre of Waterloo Region and Males Allies later partnered to create the OHL Onside toolkit.

Last year, all 20 OHL teams adopted program.

Through the success of OHL Onside, KSAC was also able to expand its MENding program, which encourages boys and men to end gender violence.

On Thursday night, Ted Lorhenz, MENding co-orindator, and a handful of male KSAC volunteers will drop the puck before the Petes take on the Ottawa 67s.

KSAC staff and volunteers will also be at the Memorial Centre to talk about Onside and the MENding program.

The MENding program is part of a larger, provincial movement that focuses on conversations about healthy masculinity and promoting respect in relationships.

Lisa Clarke, community engagement manager for KSAC, said they’d like to expand the program into schools, junior hockey and all team sports.

“We looking forward to enriching conversations throughout our community of athletes and men and boys to really challenge harmful behaviour in relationships and be leaders in that way,” Clarke said.

The culture of athletics holds a history of unhealthy behaviour towards women that includes domestic violence and dating violence, Clarke said.

Programs like Onside and MENding are designed to put an end to that culture and teach men and boys to stand up against it when they see it happening.

With athletes, such as the Petes, seen as role models, it’s important for them to lead by example, on and off the ice, Clarke said.

“We are really proud of the leadership that the Peterborough Petes have taken in bringing on this program and introducing it to the rest of the OHL.”

Thursday’s Chuck-a-Puck during the game will benefit the MENding program and the local United Way, where KSAC is a member agency.