Dale speaks out in support of sexual assault victim

SooToday.com received the following letter today from Ms. Dale Kennedy, Women In Crisis (Algoma) Director, Community Relations and Finance, in reference to recent news that three Soo Greyhounds face charges of sexual assault.

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In light of recent news regarding the alleged sexual assault perpetrated by three individuals who have been named, but more strongly identified as Soo Greyhounds, I have been waiting to hear of information regarding the alleged victim’s situation.

I believe I have been patient in my wait.

Until now. 

Each day this week, I have opened the Sault Star anticipating an article enlightening readers about sexual assault. 

Each day I have been disappointed. 

There are many of us in this community who work with victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse and woman and child abuse. 

Any number of us could have provided information and expertise. 

My ego did not require it be me who was called upon. 

However, I now feel it is incumbent upon me to offer the “other side” to the story.

I do not profess to be an expert in law and/or the judiciary. 

What I do know is that at some point last weekend, officers of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service performed an investigation and under the Criminal Code of Canada determined that a threshold was met to charge three individuals with sexual assault against one woman.

What I have observed is that since that was announced, there has been an outpouring of media around the three individuals charged and their ties to the Soo Greyhounds. 

This includes but is not limited to the future success of the team as well as their careers hanging in the balance depending on the outcome of this charge.

There have been many statements made supporting the integrity and character of each of the three charged as positive contributors to the team and to the community.

I find it a very sad commentary on society in 2012 that in these matters the focus is still on the potential harm a charge such as this will have on the future of only the alleged perpetrators.

I do not know the circumstances or what took place for the charges to be laid.

Yet I feel compelled at this time to enlighten people on a continuum of the horrific effects of even one sexual assault against a victim. 

We know that victims of sexual assault can become isolated even from those who support them as there is the stigma and shame that the victim is somehow responsible for the assault.

Our society perpetuates the myth that a victim is guilty for the assault occurring, by criticizing a woman’s style of dress - suggesting her attire drove the assailant to lose all control and commit sexual assault. 

There is still no societal norm that dictates that a person must be in control of their own sexual urges. 

The “Slut Walk” is a response to this Neanderthal attitude.

We also know that society perpetuates the myth that a woman drinking alcohol must be in control of others around her and if she consumes too much alcohol then she is still responsible for the actions of others towards her body!

I find it disturbing that if an individual has consumed alcohol and was coerced into signing ownership of their car or home to someone, there is a window wherein they can retract such an agreement. 

As well, society would typically be critical of the individual who would take advantage of someone who had consumed alcohol. 

However, in situations where alcohol and sexual assault take place, society has little if any empathy for the victim of sexual assault.

The effects of sexual assault on a victim are complex and can be long lasting. 

Education is key to understanding these complexities. 

I urge everyone to make an effort to learn much more about sexual assault and woman abuse before they make a judgment about people who have survived such trauma.

In closing, I quote Dr. Lori Haskell, Psychologist: “Experiences of sexual violence and abuse in women’s lives instill lessons in, and reinforce, what it means to be female in this society - that is, being relatively disempowered and with compromised or non-existent rights to autonomy and bodily integrity…Even women who have not been sexually abused share the reality of living in a society where there is gender inequality and potential for male sexual and physical violence.  Indeed, this is an element of gender inequality itself.” - First Stage Trauma Treatment, 2003

E. Dale Kenney
Director, Community Relations and Finance
Women In Crisis (Algoma) Inc.
23 Oakland Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2T2
(705) 759-1230
[email protected]

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