What a world it would be if women were bigger and stronger than men, if a woman could physically and mentally manipulate a man without repercussion.
Jian Ghomeshi’s trial acquittal is fading but it shouldn’t be.
Last week, it was announced the male suspect who was alleged to have sexually assaulted four UVic women aged 19 to 20 from September to February would not be charged.
Like the Ghomeshi case, it’s hard to believe four women made it up, but it essentially came down to a lack of evidence, said the Crown. Now there’s an “alleged” male student out there who has crossed the line multiple times. Hopefully he’s not in Saanich but he’s out there nonetheless, and he just got off free. Just like that guy in Toronto.
Perhaps we need to break this down to the core, to the fact that sexual education with our youth is too inconsistent, taboos are far too rampant, and boys, like girls, need to be taught openly what is consensual and acceptable at an earlier age. Even a criminal knows not to chew with an open mouth, or to open the door for an elder.
At the University of Victoria, there is a vanguard seeking better educatiaon, better policy and, in general, a UVic without sexual assault. And it’s not just the UVSS, but their Gordon Head neighbour MLA Andrew Weaver, who tabled a bill on March 8 in the fallout of the UVic sexual assault case designed to address the pervasive occurrence of sexualized violence plaguing post-secondary institutions in B.C. If enacted, the bill will create a legal responsibility for post-secondary education institutions to develop and maintain policies to prevent the occurrences of sexual violence and provide support for victims.
It’s a good move, as youth can easily forget what they’ve learned in the fun loving university campus life. But universities an colleges should only be reminding students about sexual consent, not teaching it. That should come much earlier.
