Work toward changing ignorant, sexist attitudes

Derogatory remarks must be publicly denounced, Gisele Harrison writes.

I am disheartened by the executive director of the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre’s guest column on Feb. 11. Was the purpose of her column to shift responsibility away from suspended Windsor Minor Hockey Association president Dean Lapierre and toward pop culture and radio shows like Dave and Chuck the Freak?

If so, that would represent a dramatic shift from Lydia Fiorini’s previous comments on CBC and in the Windsor Star that held Lapierre solely responsible for his posts.

Blaming Chuck the Freak reminded me of #BillyBushMadeMeDoIt, which became famous after Melania Trump blamed interviewer Billy Bush for her husband’s pussy-grabbing statement.

When Fiorini said that Lapierre reached out to the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre on his own before sanctions were imposed, I couldn’t help but wonder what motivated him to do this.

Was he seeking authentic transformation? Was he advised to do something proactive by his lawyer?

I happen to be one of the dumb bitches who marched on Washington. The namecalling was one thing, but Lapierre’s post said that women are not equal to men and that we did not have the right to have a voice, participate in a peaceful march and/ or make decisions for ourselves that differed from his.

I marched because I wanted to protect rights that already existed and advocate for rights that marginalized people haven’t been guaranteed. It was disappointing to learn that while I marched, Lapierre was busy undermining and denigrating women.

The Sexual Assault Crisis Centre, Lapierre and the Windsor Minor Hockey Association have solely focused on Lapierre and the reputation of minor hockey while completely neglecting to reach out to the marchers to find out how we have been impacted.

Each time there’s an article about Lapierre, including Fiorini’s guest column, the women on the march have been targeted anew in online comments.

If the centre, Lapierre and the hockey association were serious about making amends, they would have publicly denounced and requested that all people refrain from calling women derogatory names and criticizing our right to think and make decisions for ourselves.

When the executive director stated that groups like Unifor, which pulled their funding from Windsor Minor Hockey, were punishing children, I wondered how a rape crisis centre could conscionably be blaming anyone but Lapierre for any fallout from his sexist remarks.

If funders are wanting to ensure they are funding a sexist-free environment for young hockey players, they are not punishing children, they are protecting them.

I hope that the training sessions designed for Lapierre will go beyond an examination of pop culture; beyond teaching him that calling women dumb bitches is not nice; beyond wrapping hockey sticks with purple tape and (gulp) beyond wearing red stilettos in the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre’s annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, that lets men believe they can understand women and rape by parading around in women’s high heel shoes. Gisele Harrison is a Windsor registered social worker, yoga teacher, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing practitioner.

Lapierre’s post said that women are not equal to men.