What is Sexual Violence?
For May, Sexual Violence Prevention Month, DWS will be posting more info about sexual violence, prevention, and consent.
Bar and restaurant staff! Learn skills to prevent sexual violence in this FREE & not boring workshop DWS is facilitating on May 24 & 31. More info and sign up here.
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Based on Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centre’s ‘Defining Sexual Violence’:
Sexual violence is a broad term that describes any violence, physical or psychological, carried out through sexual means or by targeting sexuality.
It can include but is not limited to:
sexual abuse
sexual assault
rape, (date rape, marital rape, partner rape, stranger rape, rape where there is multiple perpetrators)
ritual abuse
sexual harassment
incest
childhood sexual abuse
stalking
indecent/ sexualized exposure
degrading sexual imagery
voyeurism
exhibitionism
sharing sexual photographs without permission
online sexual harassment
rape during armed conflict
trafficking and sexual exploitation
unwanted comments or jokes
Each person defines sexual violence differently based on their own personal and unique experience. Any definition must acknowledge that while the majority of sexual violence is committed by men against women and children, it is also experienced by people in same sex relationship, by trans people and by men.
Defining Sexual Violence
Sexual violence includes any act that undermines an individual’s sexual or gender integrity. Forced prostitution, forced marriage (especially of minors), forced cohabitation, forced adoption of a gender role that does not conform to an individual’s identity, trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation also come under this category. Some hate crimes and the more loosely defined “hate incidents” such as those directed at women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, Two Spirit, intersex, queer and questioning individuals are also sexual violence.
Broadening Our Understanding
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Sexual violence includes the imposition or elimination of actions related to sexual and reproductive health. Non-availability, withholding or forcing abortion and contraception, not allowing measures to prevent STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) and HIV/AIDS, Female Circumcision/ FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), and practices designed to detect whether a woman’s virginity is intact, are all examples of this kind of violence.
Perpetrators
Perpetrators of sexual violence are not usually strangers but someone known to the person such as a:
parent,
partner,
caregiver,
professional,
teacher,
co-worker,
boss,
coach,
friend or acquaintance,
landlord,
clergy,
or a person in a position of trust.
Sexual violence also occurs during war and armed conflicts being either as part of a larger coordinated system of violence or as part of one person’s actions.
Sexual Violence and the Law
The Canadian Criminal Code defines sexual assault and criminal harassment and the Yukon Human Rights Code defines sexual harassment. These codes only address a very small proportion of the sexual violence perpetuated and neither system has proven very effective in responding to the needs of survivors.
Who experiences sexual violence?
Social location – meaning how we are located in society based on our identity - continues to be the single most important predictor of the likelihood of experiencing sexual violence. While the greatest risk factor is being a woman, risk of experiencing sexual violence increases when one is:
young,
old,
poor,
a person of colour,
Indigenous,
an immigrant,
Deaf,
disabled,
has a sexual orientation or gender identity which does not conform to heterosexual gendered norms,
is criminalized or is institutionalized.
Systemic Violence
Sexual violence is not as a series of unconnected and isolated incidents but is systems of violent expressions of power and dominance happening in deeply oppressive societies. These are not acts of sexual passion or the “abnormal” behaviour of a few individuals. “Sexual violence is perpetrated by a rape culture, a system of attitudes, beliefs, messages, inequities and acts that support sexual aggression and violence. Sexual violence occurs within a context of oppression including sexism, racism, ableism, hetereosexism, ageism and classism.”
Sexual Violence Awareness
A quick and useful overview of sexual violence created by Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres and the VAW Learning Network. Download the entire document here.
Get support
YUKON SUPPORTS
Women’s Shelters:
Whitehorse
24 Hour Crisis Line - 867.668.5733
Dawson City
Dawson Women’s Shelter
24 Hour Support Line - 867.993.5086
Watson Lake
24 Hour Crisis Line - 867.536.7233
SART - Sexualized Assault Response Team
24 hour Yukon-based support for someone who has been sexually assaulted or their supporters. 1-844-967-7275
Victim Services provides help for victims dealing with a range of different crimes. It does not matter whether the victim has reported the crime, a charge has been laid or if there has been a conviction. We provide services to all people affected by a crime.
Whitehorse - 867-667-8500
Dawson City - 867-993-5831
CMHA Reach Out Support Line
Operates from 10am to 2am seven days a week with trained volunteers who will listen, support and help callers find options. 1-844-533-3030
Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services provides a variety of services, including individual counselling, outreach services, and community support. 1-866-456-3838
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Support Centre
Wellness is an important part of our spirit. The TH Wellness team uses a traditional approach to help our citizens. 867.993.7100 x164.
CANADA-WIDE SUPPORTS
Assaulted Women’s Helpline
Toll-free: 1 866-863-0511
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Support Line
a national, toll-free 24/7 crisis call line providing support for anyone who requires emotional assistance related to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. 1-844-413-6649
National Indian Residential School Crisis Line
Provides 24-hour crisis support to former Indian Residential School students and their families toll-free at 1-866-925-4419.
Hope for Wellness Help Line
Available to all Indigenous peoples across Canada who need immediate crisis intervention. Experienced and culturally sensitive help line counsellors can help if you want to talk or are distressed. 1-855-242-3310
Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support service run by trans people, for trans and questioning callers. Our operators are located all over the U.S. and Canada, and are all trans-identified. We will do our best to support you and provide you resources. 1-877-330-6366.
Available to all Canadians seeking support. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call the Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-833-456-4566 (24/7) or text 45645 (7PM - 3AM PST).
Available 24 hours a day to Canadians aged 5 to 29 who want confidential and anonymous care from professional counsellors. Call 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free) or text CONNECT to 686868
