Consent reigns this week in Yellowknife
Workshops, movies and Take Back the Night march mark 16th annual Family Violence Awareness Week
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A sexual assault video made by British police in 2015 went viral for the creative way it attempted to explain how sexual consent worked.
Jessika Claros was one of the many people who braved the cold and wind to stand up for a cause she believes in at the Take Back the Night March during last year's Family Violence Awareness Week. - NNSL file photo |
The video asked viewers to look at consent as an offer of tea.
If a woman is too drunk to accept a cup of tea, the video stated, don't make her drink it.
The Coalition Against Family Violence in the NWT is using the same message about consent as the theme of this year's Family Violence Awareness Week, which started Monday.
What constitutes consent and other issues related to family violence will be discussed, including an event called the Safety School scheduled for today at Northern United Place, and a movie screening tomorrow at the Yellowknife Public Library.
Using tea as an analogy for sexual consent is a great tool to open the dialogue about the issue, according to Pertice Moffitt, manager of health research programs at the Aurora Research Institute.
"If somebody has had too much to drink, you don't pour tea down her throat because she can't accept tea," she said.
"People have assumed blame if somebody has had too much to drink, then it is their fault that they were sexually assaulted. But they didn't actually consent, they're passed out."
As a current example, Moffitt referred to the former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who was recently released from county jail in the United States after serving only three months for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a campus fraternity party.
The victim's impact statement, which was released to an online media outlet in full, went viral and Turner's light sentence sparked controversy across North America about how society perceives sexual assault.
To change the placing of blame on the victim, Moffitt said education can play a role.
In her research, she said an issue that turned up repeatedly was the importance of educating people about family violence and sexual assault to ensure women understand what they are and the resources available to them.
In addition to a panel discussion about consent, the Coalition Against Family Violence, Victim Services and YWCA Yellowknife are will be at the Safety School to inform people of the services available to them in Yellowknife.
Executive director for the Status of Women Council of the NWT Lorraine Phaneuf said the Safety School is also about becoming aware of new research as well as available services.
"It's one thing to talk about consent but it's also talking about societal shifts on what's acceptable and what's not acceptable when it comes consent," Phaneuf said.
"Women and girls need to understand they can say no to behaviors they are not comfortable with and we can all teach each other about how to live healthy lives and understand what consent actually is."
The Department of Health and Social Services provides most of the funding for Family Violence Awareness Week.
This year, it provided about $20,000, which was distributed in smaller grants ranging from $750 to $1,000 to participating organizations.
In addition to the Safety School, the Coalition Against Family Violence is holding an open house this morning, the Yellowknife Public Library is screening the documentary, "The Hunting Ground," on Thursday and a Take Back the Night March will take place at City Hall on Friday night.
