Whitehorse Daily Star

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ENCOURAGING A SHIFT – As part of this year’s 12 Days to End Violence campaign, Hillary Aitken, program co-ordinator at the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, is promoting a shift from mutualizing to unilateral language when describing violence against women.

Call violence what it is: women’s campaign

Sometimes the language we use to describe violence against women normalizes or hides the issue.

By Rhiannon Russell on November 24, 2014

Sometimes the language we use to describe violence against women normalizes or hides the issue.

Calling spousal assault a “domestic dispute,” or saying a man who raped a woman “had sex with her” mutualizes violence, says Hillary Aitken, program co-ordinator at the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre.

These words suggest the woman is mutually responsible for what happened.

“If you start by saying ‘sex,’ then it carries other words with it, so it’s ‘had sex with,’ ‘she had sex with him,’ but if you use the word ‘rape,’ there’s no ‘having rape with,’” Aitken says.

“There’s no way it can be mutual. It automatically infers a unilateral, violent act.”

Changing our language is at the heart of this year’s 12 Days to End Violence campaign, themed “Call it What it is” and organized by the women’s centre and Les EssentiElles.

“It frames the issue entirely differently,” Aitken says. “It definitely leads to different outcomes for victims and for women in terms of the response that they get, the support that they get and how they heal from the whole event.”

The campaign will kick off at noon Tuesday at Yukon College, and run until Dec. 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada and the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, during which 14 women were killed by a gunman at a college.

Throughout the 12 days, the women’s groups have organized public discussions, high school workshops on consent, and film screenings (see schedule, this page).

In the Yukon, rates of violence against women are three to four times the national average.

Aboriginal women are three to four times more likely to be victims of violence than non-aboriginal women.

Thirty-eight women in the territory are part of the more than 1,000 missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada, for which calls for a national inquiry have intensified as of late.

These women will be commemorated during the campaign’s closing ceremony on Dec. 5 at the Elijah Smith Building.

Over the years, Aitken says, she’s seen a gradual shift away from placing the onus on women to prevent or avoid violence, often in the form of tips for safe partying or directives to not walk home alone or watch your drink at a bar.

“Victim-blaming is really archaic and, frankly, it doesn’t work,” she says.

“Women are still getting assaulted, no matter where you walk, no matter what you wear, if you protect your drink. Now we’ve shifted more towards placing the responsibility on offenders and having that conversation about how do we have a safe community, how do men step up to create better relationships and be better community members?”

If a woman doesn’t feel blamed for violence against her, and receives a positive social response from whoever she first tells about it, she’s more likely to report to police, says Maryne Dumaine, acting executive director at Les EssentiElles.

The notion of mutualizing language comes from Drs. Linda Coates and Allan Wade, two researchers in B.C. who’ve examined how the words we use can conceal violence, deflect offender responsibility and place the blame on victims.

This is why Aitken and Dumaine advocate for using words like “rape,” “violence” and “assault” – words that are blunt but tell it like it is.

“It’s an act that one person does to another,” Aitken says.

“That’s the shift we’re trying to make – that violence is a deliberate strategic act. It’s an act that one person does to another.”

She acknowledges changing language isn’t easy. It’s ingrained. We’re comfortable with the words we use.

Because part of the public’s awareness of violence comes from media coverage of the justice system, it’s important that the cyclical use of mutualizing language in the courts – reporters using lawyers’ and judges’ terminology, lawyers and judges using language from police reports, and police using words offered by victims and offenders.

“Everybody needs to step up and be more conscious about the words they’re using, and you can do that,” Aitken says. “Everyone can do that in a way that still fits their mandate.”

Violence against women in Canada has, sadly, been a hot topic in recent months – with allegations of abuse by former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, sexual harassment allegations on Parliament Hill, and the attacks on Tina Fontaine and Rinelle Harper, two First Nations teenagers, in Manitoba.

But the side effect of these highly publicized events is that violence and sexism have become the subject of a national discussion. Aitken and Dumaine see this as a good thing.

“Violence against women like this has been happening for a long time, but these conversations are now being had in different ways, in different places and with different people,” Aitken says.

Dumaine agrees.

“I think that the attention on the cause is raising general awareness, and that’s a good thing,” she says.

“But it’s also a good thing that it empowers women who are victims, as well, to talk about it, seeing that they’re not alone.”

Comments (5)

Up 14 Down 3

The Other Side on Nov 27, 2014 at 11:10 am

Supportive of the cause but also hope that people are aware of both sides.
Sexual assault is now being used as a bargaining chip by some women. I'd reference the movie "Best Laid Plans"

I know of three cases in the Yukon where women have intentionally misled authorities in the hopes of receiving financial compensation. All three were quashed.

Because we're promoting/creating a society which is catering to the "whims" of women; some women have learned how to take advantage of this. Authorities are receptive to the testimony of women and in my experience will give it authority over that of a mans. This means that we are creating women that are acting the victim. Just recently a central figure in Whse phoned the RCMP and complained of abuse/violence/property damage, when the RCMP arrived nothing was found but the statements were given weight because:

"It's difficult for women to speak up, so when they do we need to be sure that we listen and encourage them to give details."

I can only hope that the Victoria Faulkner Women's center is doing their due diligence and making sure they educate women about the detriment you can cause to a person my making false statements or claims.

Stats, always dubious, say that 10% of rape/sexual assaults that are reported are frivolous claims and/or erroneous. As high as 40% and as low as 2%

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-19/how-many-rape-reports-are-false (I use this as reference).
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/09/false_rape_accusations_why_must_be_pretend_they_never_happen.html

my $.02

Up 26 Down 4

north_of_60 on Nov 25, 2014 at 6:32 pm

"Sometimes the language we use to describe violence against women normalizes or hides the issue."

Exactly true, like calling everything from inappropriate touching to forcible rape and torture as "sexual assault". Be specific, generalized terms are generally misrepresented to flog a personal agenda.

"Aboriginal women are three to four times more likely to be victims of violence than non-aboriginal women."
Conveniently omitting that nearly all are victims of violent aboriginal men.

Up 26 Down 8

Josey Wales on Nov 25, 2014 at 8:16 am

Actually I'm of the opinion that...by separating violence based on gender very much normalizes the violence men deal with.
Whether Venus types or Mars types bring the violence forward toward fellow Mars....matter not.
Getting your space violated, or getting assaulted is a potential we ALL must face at some point in our travels.
We need to end or try to lessen the violence...all of it, regardless of ones gender.

Up 6 Down 17

brian on Nov 25, 2014 at 8:09 am

CAPITAL PUMISHMENT!!!
Wanna see how fast the numbers in violence against women drops.
Hang a few rapists, send a clear message.

Up 20 Down 7

Wilf Carter on Nov 24, 2014 at 6:30 pm

Violence against women or children or anyone is wrong. I am glad women are speaking out and more need to do that so society will demand something to be done about it. There are many types of violence today and I am experiencing it and can't do anything about it because there is no way to show it because it gets hidden by the system.

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