Let all the provinces adopt a bill similar to Ontario

Over last two weeks, various cases of sexual assault were in focus and each such case came with a set of questions attached. A young university student was raped for hours at the University of Saskatchewan’s dormitory in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2012. The number of rapist remains a mystery till date, but DNA testing detected the presence of semen from two men. Only one of them could be arrested, charged and convicted f sexual assault but never showed up for sentencing and hasn’t been seen since. There are been heinous incidences since then, and far spread across Canada. In a recent incidence, Calgary police have charged a man with sexual assault after two women said they were held against their will in a Parkhill residence. The incident took place in the early morning hours of Dec. 8. Law officer are expected to safeguard, but in yet another case a guardian became the tormentor. A police officer from London, On. was charged for sexual assault and is now facing additional charges. The 41-year old officer was charged last Monday with two counts of criminal harassment, making harassing phone calls and being unlawfully in a dwelling. He now faces charges in London and Waterloo. Perhaps the guilty officer believed in “It is easy to abuse power when you actually have that power.”
These cited incidences are only a reflection of how unsafe women in Canada. Many would argue that in a better condition than India and Pakistan. But each battered body carries the same mind, that is looking for a light in darkness. These cited cases also throw a light on how cases are handled in Canada. If expressed in figures, the numbers don’t talk good about Canada as an estimated 460,000 cases of sexual assaults are committed each year in Canada. Gender-based violence persists as a reality for too many Canadians, and the Government seems to e be concerned about it. But is that adequate?
As part of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Status of Women and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of the Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, announced new funding for an important project that will improve the tracking and reporting of sexual assaults by law enforcement authorities in Ontario communities. Under this project, the Ottawa Coalition To End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) will work with women’s sexual assault centres, shelter networks, and police services to pilot “The Philadelphia Model” at five sites in Ontario communities. “The Philadelphia Model” is a collaborative review process that allows outside experts to review police case files to help identify any missteps in the investigative process and alert investigators to worrying trends. This innovative approach has resulted in a decrease in the number of misclassified sexual assault cases in United States. A welcome step! But that may not be adequate. Also, in March 2016, the Ontario government, after highly publicized cases of sexual assault on campuses, introduced Bill 132. Bill 132 demands that post-secondary institutions have a stand-alone policy that addresses how to deal with complaints of sexual assault, and the investigation process.
These two steps are directed for the same cause however in two directions. However, we need to ask for two more steps. Let all the provinces adopt a bill similar to Ontario for all institutions and not just for post secondary institutions. And why keep workplaces out of the bill? Perhaps the lawmakers have not thought of it as yet!
Moreover, our approach towards such cases is also a cause of concern. We talk about how many women were raped, not about how many men raped women. We talk about how many girls in a school district were harassed not about how many boys harassed girls. Here, we need to bring in that second additional step.
We need to address prevention strategies. A number of sexual abuse begins well before puberty; hence preventive education, if it is to have any effect at all, should begin early in grade school. Efforts should be directed to educating students on what constitutes sexual assault. Males should also be part of the program, as perpetrators happen to be males. Let the Program suggest that the main goal for males is to avoid being accused of sexual assault. The focus should be on respecting a person’s body, and the decision not to consent to sexual activity to be treated final, regardless of appearance of prior behavior. As Canadians, we should not tolerate anyone treating the victims of sexual assault like suspects regardless of circumstances. We should focus on the accused. Instead of asking what the victim was wearing or drinking, the focus should be on upbringing of the accused. Where did it go wrong? Laws, coupled with sensitization and attitude could change a lot for a better society.