Several years ago I served on the Board of Directors of the Regina Women’s Community Centre and Sexual Assault Line. It was an important way for me to give back to the Centre which had helped me come to some kind of peace with my experience of a date rape that had occurred in my late teens. For too long, I had blamed myself, even though I had loudly and clearly said, NO!
It disturbed me when I saw the video featuring Premier Wall, MP Tom Lukiwski, and those anonymous Conservative men denigrating women in the way they did. It bothers me that they have not yet apologized to the women of the province, for the role they have played in promoting sexism and sexist behaviour. And it disturbed me even more, then, when I learned this:
Regina has the third highest rate of sexual assault per capita in Canada (Statistics Canada 2006).
Now, many of you know that I’m not a major fan of Mayor Pat Fiacco, but I’ll give him credit for this:
Mayor Pat Fiacco has proclaimed the week of April 13 to 19 Sexual Assault Awareness Week. It is time to Draw The Line against sexual violence in our city.
The Regina Women’s Community Centre and Sexual Assault Line have organized this event:
A Project to Raise Awareness of Sexual Violence
Bring a t-shirt to decorate to honour yourself or someone you know who has experienced sexual assault
Regina City Hall Courtyard
April 19, 2008
12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.Sexual Assault affects us all; young and old.
Please come support this event because survivors of sexual assault are someone’s mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, daughter, niece, friend, or even someone’s father, brother, uncle, or son.
Thank you in advance from all of us at The Regina Women’s Community Centre & Sexual Assault Line for sharing this message with those you know and love.
I can be at this event for only a short while as my daughter arrives home from her immersion experience that afternoon (YAY!!!). I’ll hope that this awareness campaign can prevent all of our daughters from experiencing what I experienced when I was just a wee bit older than my daughter is now.
the regina mom 
stean
/ April 10, 2008Fuck. shut the fuck up you liberal whiny piece of shit, when did anything they say degrade women, are you trying to put s words in peoples mouths. I am not a conservative but people like you make it hard to be liberal. I hopr you get date raped again as we all know how you were asking for it!!!!
anne cameron
/ April 11, 2008Stean: I hope your mother sees what you wrote.
She should have buried you in the garden and kept and raised the placenta.
They turned you loose before the glue was dry.
April
/ April 12, 2008Wow Stean. I’m not not a man hater, but men like you certainly have a knack for making it difficult not to be sometimes. Unlike you, I would not wish rape on other people, but I do think that you would stand to learn something from the experience. I hope that you’re single and that you stay that way until you get help. I’m sorry for your partner if you’re not.
Sending you lots of positive energy to help you on your journey to becoming the kind of man that real men are not ashamed of.
Monika
/ April 12, 2008It takes a brave person to leave anonymous misogynistic, victim-blaming comments on someone’s blog.
michelle
/ April 13, 2008I can only imagine that the person who wrote those comments makes it his job to be as aggressive and absurd as possible only to get a rise out of people – waiting happily and hungrily for all of the attention he will get from his comments. If this person is actually expressing a true feeling, I mirror April’s comments – I feel sorry for his partner, and if he is partnered, I hope he remains that way until he heals the deep self-hatred that he tosses at others in these ways.
Strong and protective energy is being sent to those who have experienced rape and to those who are threatened by rape, in the hopes of disempowering the energy those aggressive words might have on them.
Norma Christie
/ April 13, 2008“Feminism has fought no wars. It has killed no opponents. It has set up no concentration camps, starved no enemies, practiced no cruelties. Its battles have been for education for the vote, for better working conditions, for safety on the streets, for child care, for social welfare, for rape crisis
centres, women’s refuges, reforms in the laws. If someone says, “Oh I’m not a feminist!”, I ask Why? What’s your problem?” by Dale Spender
Stean, what’s your problem?
Lilith
Jane Bouey
/ April 13, 2008Bernadette,
Thank you for your powerful words. I hope you know that your blog makes a difference. You make the connections.
Peace and justice.
Sasha
/ April 13, 2008What a sad, sad man and sadder too for the people around him. He’s obviously part of the problem rather than the solution. As Anne Cameron alluded to, his mother must be mortified to have raised such a foul mouthed, angry, resentful, self hating son. Clearly his father didn’t model appropriate male behaviour but it’s never too late to learn decency.
I second Jane’s comments about Bernadette.
Stay safe amiga,
Sasha
Darlene Juschka
/ April 14, 2008Thanks for the support for the event Bernadette. It is greatly appreciated. I am sorry you took abuse for posting this event – there is too little kindness in the world.
Take care,
Darlene
Laura
/ April 26, 2008In reference to stean’s comment. This is pretty much what I got out of what he’s saying: “It’s so hard to be a liberal when people stand up for their rights and the rights of others and ruin it for everyone.”
This kids comments are so unbelievable. I can’t wait until the Miss G_ Project gets up and running in schools and can be made a nationwide prerequisite for education in Canada. It would have definitely made a difference in this kids life.
I enjoy how he hasn’t had the gall to come back and go off again. Maybe he had his internet privileges revoked by his parents, if they cared enough to put the kibosh on his unacceptable behaviour.