Actors Catherine Brunet and Pier-Luc Funk host Contacts: one step at a timea series of podcasts, designed primarily for teenagers, in which they discuss sexual violence, the justice system and the road to healing.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Created at the initiative of local justice centers, organizations that offer free legal information services, the series was born in the wake of the #metoo movement and the most recent wave of denunciations that swept through the networks. in 2020. If this episode was an opportunity to free the voice of victims and to reintroduce the notion of consent in the public space, it also led to questions and reflection on the justice system.
“With the waves of denunciation, I think that there are a lot of young people who have asked themselves questions, who are trying to understand, to navigate in there then for real, me too, remarks Catherine Brunet. As a woman, I had to do some soul-searching. »
I had to think about certain moments in my life, then I asked myself questions too. If someone had told me about this when I was a teenager, I think it would have helped me understand relationships better.
Catherine Brunet
With her friend Pier-Luc Funk, of whom she plays the lover in the series Forever, not a day, she discusses the subject with various guests: lawyers, sexologists, judges, police officers and representatives of victim support organizations. Over the course of the nine episodes directed by Fadwa Lapierre, they discuss legal consent, but also romantic relationships, cyberattacks, sexting, the complaints process in the justice system, restorative justice and healing. Although the series is aimed at 12 to 17 year olds, the two animators say they have learned a lot.
“I understood the number of possible solutions and processes that are available to a victim in order to achieve his or her recovery, emphasizes Pier-Luc Funk. Often, for a victim, it is like Everest. You just see that you’ll never make it and you think your only way to win is if your attacker is found guilty. But the goal is for you to have a healing process that makes you feel good as a victim. »
Giving young people tools
The series is not intended to restore the image of the justice system, the flaws of which have been exposed and denounced in recent years. “We are aware that the current justice system has shortcomings and that there may be brakes,” says Ms.and Marie-Josée Fournier, Executive Director of the Bas-Saint-Laurent Community Justice Center.
Our mission is to promote access to justice, so we are happy to see all the initiatives taken to improve the justice system. We want to give young people tools to understand the system that is currently in place and inform them in a neutral way with different experts.
Mand Marie-Josée Fournier, Executive Director of the Bas-Saint-Laurent Community Justice Center
Experts who don’t always agree: a policeman who insists you shouldn’t send anyone a naked picture of yourself; a sex therapist who gives advice on how to do it in the safest way possible. “There was this desire for honesty with what is happening, says Pier-Luc Funk. It will happen the same. If we had just said not to do it, we would not have respected the purpose of our podcast. »
The objective of this podcast is also to reflect on ways to prevent sexual violence. “We talk about equality, feminism, how to regain control of our narrative, lists Catherine Brunet. How can we get people to stop sexually assaulting people? »
In the fall, lawyers from local justice centers and social workers will lead workshops related to this series in high schools and youth centers across the province.
The nine episodes of Contacts: one step at a time are available on Tuesday on several platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast.