Change is the whole point of enlightenment

There is one sexual assault centre in all of Toronto. Just one place where women who have been victim to terrible things can turn for solace and support. It’s called the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape. Back in 1990, when the provincial government started to fund its services, 13 full-time staff answered the crisis line and counselled victims at the centre. Today, there are six. The reason? Its budget over those 24 years, has gone up by only $37,000 — around $1,500 a year. The result: the waiting list for counselling is now six months long. Mark that as first thing that should happen next: a truckload of taxpayer money for services that support sexual assault victims. Since CBC host Jian Ghomeshi was fired two weeks ago, the country has been pitched into an unplanned consciousness-raising session about sexual assault. Thousands of women have dug up their long-buried horror stories and shared them online. Victims have publicly detailed the second assault they received at the hands of the criminal justice system. Two MPs were suspended from the Liberal caucus, apparently for sexual harassment, after which we learned there is no anti-harassment policy on Parliament Hill, and not by mistake. The Conservative government rejected the idea. A couple days later, the Ontario Hockey League suspended two of its players for making sexist remarks on social media. We’ve been forcing down the cap on a toxic geyser for years, it seems. It’s starting to burst. I talked to a dozen experts on sexual assault and women’s rights this past week — victims, counsellors, lawyers, researchers, activists. All of them said we are witnessing a “pivotal moment” when transformational change is possible. “We don’t want to lose it,” said Cynamin Maxwell, a counsellor at the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/ Multicultural Women Against Rape. I never went to consciousnessraising session, sadly. They happened in the 1970s, when I was a kid. What I’ve learned about them from Judy Rebick’s great book, Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution, is that by sharing their stories, young women learned their problems were systemic.

What is the point of enlightenment if it doesn’t lead to change? Those historic sessions led to campaigns — for abortion clinics, equal pay, birth control. Forty years later, I wonder now: what’s next?

I asked each of the experts I called this week for some concrete ideas. Here’s a few they offered:

Beef up our supports for sexual assault victims. Here’s a second example: the Barbra Schlifer Clinic is the only legal clinic specializing in violence against women in the country. Its core funding has not changed for a decade, according to executive director Amanda Dale. The waiting list for counselling there is about four months long.

Call for a roundtable of experts, including rape victims and counsellors, to examine ways to change our justice system so rape victims feel supported, not assaulted.

Demand an inquiry into the 1,181 murdered or missing native women.

Push the Wynne government to finally update its outdated curriculum on sexual health to include information on healthy relationships, respect and sexual consent.

Demand a national debate on women’s rights during the 2015 federal election. More than 100 organizations launched the “Up For Debate” campaign this month, calling for “party leaders (to) explain how they plan to build a more equal Canada for us all, and make meaningful commitments to change women’s lives for the better.”

Finally, stop being bystanders to sexism you personally witness. “What really needs to happen is a change in public culture,” says Pamela Cross, a feminist lawyer.

I thought about that when I stepped into the Hudson’s Bay Co. Friday morning. Greeting me were two giant photos of a women whose naked body was painted with pink bows. Her vagina was hidden by a bow-shaped crystal container. It’s an advertisement for Viktor & Rolf’s new perfume, called Bonbon.

How can we be surprised that young women don’t report sexual harassment, when they are surrounded by images that blatantly tell them: You are here for sex?