The #MeToo movement, which has led to a wave of reports of sexual assault on social networks, has had “variable geometry” repercussions in society, according to various organizations. They particularly deplore the lack of attention given to sexual violence suffered by girls and women with disabilities as well as violence that occurs in schools.
Members of different organizations took turns speaking Saturday morning in Montreal as part of an event echoing the fifth anniversary of the wave of #MeToo denunciations. This quickly took on an international dimension in October 2017 on the sidelines of the unveiling of investigations carried out by the New York Times and the New Yorker including testimonies from women alleging they were sexually assaulted by Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.
These denunciations – and all those that have been suffered – have helped to raise awareness of sexual harassment among a large public. However, this movement includes, even today, blind spots, notes the director of the House of Deaf Women of Montreal, Line Bergeron.
“It is important to know that the violence experienced by women with disabilities is an unknown problem and very little documented, whereas it is a group of the population particularly vulnerable to this issue”, she underlined during a conference of press held on the premises of his organization. Yet the rate of sexual assault is “four times higher” among women with disabilities than it is among all women, she said. Women with disabilities are also more at risk of being sexually exploited, whether by “accompanying persons”, members of their family or even people “who provide health care”.
Ms. Bergeron calls on the Government of Quebec, asking it to take action to prevent cases of sexual violence among women with disabilities and support the victims. Because, currently, “there is still a long way to go before the movement #MeToo be truly inclusive,” she said.
Women with disabilities are also “absent from all government statistics and studies on sexual violence”, added Maude Massicotte, who is assistant coordinator at the National Institute for Equity, Equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities. “For five years, we have been absent from the movement #MeToo and we are still the eternally forgotten,” added Ms. Massicotte, who denounces, among other things, the lack of support resources adapted to people with disabilities who have suffered sexual violence.
“We are calling for access to services, resources and adapted support, as well as access to sex education on the same basis as all other young adolescent girls,” she said.
The head of communications for the Regroupement québécois des centers d’aide et de Lutte contre les aggressions sxuel, Justine Chénier, notes that the repercussions of the #MeToo movement have been “variable geometry” in Quebec, with many victims living in the area. shadow of this wave. “Were there any good shots? Yes, absolutely, ”she admitted, however. In particular, she underlined, in this regard, the implementation by several universities of policies aimed at preventing sexual violence on their campuses, while Quebec is working to set up a court specializing in sexual violence and domestic violence.
Also in schools
Peace and Social Harmony Network President and Co-Founder Brian Bronfman lamented the lack of attention given to sexual violence that occurs within educational institutions, unlike that which has occurred in the entertainment industries. and elite sport.
“Schools must provide the tools, means and resources necessary to prevent, detect, intervene and refer young people who face sexual violence”, claims the coordinator of the Movement for schools without sexual violence, Adriana Eslava , which calls for the creation of a framework law to prevent sexual violence in primary and secondary schools.