University Sex Assaults

This makes me sick. I visited the Women Against Violence Against Women's website to read some statistics again. This story at York Univeristy just makes me rage inside, makes me gnash my teeth and ask the desperate question, how long? One in Four. One in Four women in Canada will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. A woman is raped in Canada every 17 minutes (Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1985.). This doesn't include the unreported sexual assault crimes. The Take Back the Night March is a place to voice our anger, to raise our voices in a safe place. But attitudes towards women and violence against women need to change. Jane Doe, in her book, argues that if every 17 minutes lawyers or doctors were being beaten up, the army would be called in. She's absolutely right!

Alberta has a higher proportion of domestic violence cases against women than any other province (Canadian Institute for Health Information Report 2003). It takes more than a march, a protest. It takes more than donating to the shelters. It takes more than dialogue. What are we going to do about it? Come the revolution.