Four ways sexual assault is being challenged at UVic

Written by Nick Montgomery. Nick is a community member and a member of the Men’s Circle Coordinating Collective.

On September 26th, a disturbing and reprehensible sexual assault occurred here at the University of Victoria. In the context of sexualized violence, there is always resistance, and anti-violence organizers have taught me that this is a good place to begin.

In this case, I know from the media reports that the survivor resisted, and that someone else also intervened. I also know that folks are pushing back against the legalistic and sensationalist reporting of this incident. I know that lots of people are resisting violence all the time on campus, and working to create safer, more caring and respectful relationships. This is written in gratitude to all those resisting this violent culture and building alternatives to it.

1) Believing survivors

Against tendencies to question the stories and experiences of survivors, folks have started by believing the survivors of sexual assault. As in most cases, mainstream media and campus security have both discussed this incident of sexualized violence as an “allegation” or a “reported sexual assault,” which is a subtle way of saying a claim without proof. This legalistic perspective is institutionalized in the ways that police, courts, and other authorities respond to sexual assault: the stories of survivors are treated as “claims” to be substantiated later (or not) through the legal system. This legalistic perspective gets internalized and plays out in everyday life, when people attempt to be “neutral” or insist that they want “all the facts” before believing survivors of sexual assault. But we aren’t cops or judges, and inhabiting that perspective means failing at care and support.

As Carol Bilson from the Anti-Violence explains, “believing survivors of sexual assault is absolutely crucial. In a world where survivors often face persecution, blame, and harassment, believing survivors is the first, absolutely necessary step in supporting them.” Thankfully, those resisting sexualized violence have pushed back against legalistic tendencies and created spaces on campus like the Anti-Violence Project to support survivors. Because of this work, there is less tolerance for victim-blaming, and folks are developing and spreading ways of responding to sexual assault that are rooted in the experiences and needs of survivors, while also challenging the roots of sexual assault.

2) Naming and challenging rape culture

Police and media tend to frame this incident of sexualized violence as a rare and exceptional event, claiming that “generally the campus is a very safe place.” However, others have challenged this sensationalist and reductive perspective, expressing solidarity and support for the survivor while also situating this incident in the context of the violent culture we live in. As Kenya Rogers of the UVic Student Society said last week in response to this incident, “If we don’t come together to change the culture that we have, then this violence is going to continue.”

The Anti-Violence Project and other anti-violence organizers have shifted the focus from individual acts of sexualized violence to rape culture: the ways that our culture institutionalizes, encourages, and normalizes violence. In its workshops AVP supports participants in connecting behaviours like catcalls, slut-shaming, rape jokes, victim-blaming, and objectification as part of a broader system, with its roots in colonialism, heteropatriarchy, ableism, white supremacy, and capitalism. Seen from this perspective, sexualized violence looks less like an episodic event, and more like one of the more brutal expressions of a violent culture.

This holistic approach stands in stark contrast to the way that universities and police tend to deal with sexual assault. For instance, in the wake of the incident, UVic Campus Security issued a “Campus Advisory Bulletin” with details about where the assault occurred, and contact information for Campus Security and the Safe Walk Program. According to the VP of Student Affairs Jim Dunsdon, AVP and other campus supports were not included “because of word count.” Dunsdon said that bulletin was supposed to inform the campus community about the assault and provide “guidance to those that may have information… to contact Saanich Police,” and to ensure that those who “felt an immediate concern for their personal security were directed to contact Campus Security.” Sexualized violence gets treated as an episodic safety issue, to be solved with more security and policing.

But as Carol Bilson explained in response, “What we have is a social problem, and you can’t arrest your way out of a social problem.” The work that AVP does to shift the focus towards rape culture has supported me in understanding that a lot of us don’t have opportunities to intervene in sexual assault when it’s happening, but everyone can participate in resisting violence, because it’s happening all the time, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Rape culture is already being challenged by all kinds of people who are already resisting, organizing against sexualized violence, and creating alternatives here on campus. The campus is not a very safe place for a lot of people, but there are people working to make it safer.

3) Implicating men

A prevalent tendency of rape culture is to understand sexual assault as a few isolated acts, perpetrated by unknown monsters. Women are reminded to be careful and take precautions, and the monsters seem to be unreachable. For example, in the wake of a sexual assault on campus in 2011, police instructed women to “travel in groups, stick to well-lit areas, be mindful of your drink, where you leave it, and who you accept a drink from.” There were no instructions for men, probably because we were assumed to be either irrelevant bystanders or unreachable criminals. Those working against rape culture on campus have challenged this tendency to put the onus on women to protect themselves from sexual assault. Instead, anti-violence organizers have helped shift the focus to places where rape culture and violence is being perpetuated.

By recognizing that assault happens in our communities, where we live and work, among people we know, folks have made it possible to talk about it, challenge it, and hold each other accountable. Part of the power of this resistance is its capacity to put some of the onus on men to challenge rape culture. Folks like me (white, middle-class, able-bodied cis-gendered men) can learn to support those who face this violence on an everyday basis, and we can also work with other men to unlearn patriarchy and violence.

To support men working against rape culture, last year, AVP initiated a Men’s Circle at UVic. As Carol Bilson from AVP explains, “We wanted to see men supporting each other in unlearning patriarchy and challenging rape culture on campus and in the broader community. Our experience has shown us that men are more likely to listen to and believe other men who talk about these issues, so we saw a definite need for this to happen on campus in a public way.” I was involved in the Men’s Circle last year, and it has really broken down the simplistic binary I had internalized of “those men” who are rapists and “us men” who aren’t, or “those men” who have problems and “us men” who don’t. As men, we’ve all internalized this toxic culture, we all harm people and make mistakes, and we can all support each other in challenging rape culture in ourselves and our broader communities. The Men’s Circle is open to all men and masculine-identified folks (not just UVic students) and it happens bi-weekly. The next one is Wednesday, October 21st in the Student Union Building, Room B028. There’s always food, and usually 10-20 participants.

4) Creating communities of care

The Men’s Circle is just one of the ways that folks are working to resist sexualized violence and challenging men to be allies in this work. The promise of this transformative movement lies in creating and strengthening relationships and communities based on consent, respect, trust, reciprocity and accountability. A really concrete example is the upcoming event organized by AVP and other campus-based groups in response to the recent sexual assault that happened on Sept 26th.

On Thursday Oct 8th at 6, AVP and other campus groups are hosting an event called “Holding Community Space for Survivors”. The event will include free food, speakers, poetry, and spoken word. It will also be a great way for folks to meet the folks at AVP and others doing anti-violence work at UVic. Then, at 7:15 the movie The Hunting Ground will be shown at Cinecenta Films, and UVic Counselling will be tabling.

This event is an opportunity for folks to come together in solidarity with survivors of sexualized violence. Events like this one are also one of the many ways that folks on campus are working to create more points of contact for people to get to know each other, learn about supports on campus, celebrate the resistance and strength of folks doing this work, and deepen networks of care, respect, and reciprocity at UVic and beyond. Thanks to everyone resisting sexual violence and supporting other ways of being.