1 10 80 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Tribune Description An account of the resource This collection holds articles from the McGill Tribune. We are not allowed to host copies of the articles for copyright reasons, but have decided to share the metadata fields, should one want to find them elsewhere. At the time of writing this, all issues of the McGill Tribune are available at <a href="https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune">https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune</a>. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. 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Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Tribune Description An account of the resource This collection holds articles from the McGill Tribune. We are not allowed to host copies of the articles for copyright reasons, but have decided to share the metadata fields, should one want to find them elsewhere. At the time of writing this, all issues of the McGill Tribune are available at <a href="https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune">https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune</a>. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 13 Issue 4 Page Number(s) 3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1993/09/28 Title A name given to the resource McGill students rally against racism Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jennifer Lambert, Sara Jean Green Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available McGill Tribune non-McGill protest race racism SSMU Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Tribune Description An account of the resource This collection holds articles from the McGill Tribune. We are not allowed to host copies of the articles for copyright reasons, but have decided to share the metadata fields, should one want to find them elsewhere. 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Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994/02/01 Title A name given to the resource Men's group confronts sexism and Sexual Assault Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Broadhurst Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available McGill Tribune non-McGill rape culture Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) sexual violence Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Tribune Description An account of the resource This collection holds articles from the McGill Tribune. We are not allowed to host copies of the articles for copyright reasons, but have decided to share the metadata fields, should one want to find them elsewhere. At the time of writing this, all issues of the McGill Tribune are available at <a href="https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune">https://issuu.com/mcgill_tribune</a>. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Volume 14 Issue 3 Page Number(s) 9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994/09/20 Title A name given to the resource Wide spectrum of sexual harassment policies across Canada Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Michael Broadhurst Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available McGill Tribune non-McGill policy sexual violence https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/71cf2abf88edaf9a2398c4f10091d69c.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=n4ko1kjzMKO4ry0WeSkZUjW3-qyT%7E9ttEhEUH%7EArqCa5k28XqbMuu2%7El3-NBcqrljkHz-9LeRTzw3Gs9cjUSHO8lloHzzQwDswv9Gb0WivPbW47u1R5epKQQ9h-479sCK1ql-ZibksgUXjI%7Ecin5IGRph9sYfscoVfKg%7Envbz8DztP7zwMButVXV7IxMaSBu5lpXqoErMDhXvHsdpjn5hL2kLBlvTCUZYGhikWl2jm64zd-xYpTPz8Wpr-b5iiTd89aoR8nEROmU%7E9nOQbCgQU7fq0KJMcBL7AgCPdy3DRv0EfSTrLbjk1eDHLEbhVBj37mfBvqEzR3YKU4hQLCO7w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 27d4f221259fde6865cccb5932cb8e72 PDF Text Text Joint Special Issue Wednesday, December 1~. 1989 McGIIl University Montreal, Quebec I n the wake oflast Wednesday's massacre, some members of Montreal's student press agreed it would be fitting to collaborate on a joint issue. Students from UQAM, McGill and Concordia have come together to put their thoughts and feelings on paper. 1l1c staff of Continuum, the student newspaper at Univcrsitc de Montreal, refused to participate. 1l1ey felt we were capitalizing on tJ1c tragedy. Their reaction is understandable, given the barrage of · media attention tJ1e students at the Universi!C de Montreal have had to endure along with their loss. But asilent memorial is not tJ1c only way to respond to this horrifying event. We defy the assumption that the mainstream media has said it all, that there is nothing left to add. The student press, especially insofar as it expresses the feminist viewpoint, must not be denied a voice in the discussion of what took place a week ago today. Our perspective is directly rclev-,mtto the incident. The·prescnce of women at universities is a direct result of an on-going revolution that is freeing women from their traditional confines. The fact that we arc on these campusesstudying, working and simultaneously redefining the given power structure and "social fabric" -is a manifestation of the shift in the status of women that has left so many men violently maladjusted. In the following pages there will be no reference to "daughters" or "fathers", the archaic adull/child analogy that pervades media coverage. This is a discussion about and amongst equals. If "professionals" and "experts" cannot free themselves of paternalistic attitudes, we at least can avoid that · pitfall. Nor will this paper express any doubt as to whether or not this event was an expression of the misogyny in our society. It was. The roots of psychosis may be mysterious, but the fact that LCpinc aimed his gun at women, at "feminists" is neither inexplicable, surprising nor unique. And the answer to the question "Why?", which so many seem to be asking so innocently at this stage, is unspeakably obvious. The focus for his hatred and violence was provided for him by the sexist institutions that educate, employ and entertain us. Finally, we question the nature of the pu~lic's outrage. If the people slaughtered had been fourteen prostitutes, or fourteen lesbians, or any other "marginalizcd" sector, the shock we have witnessed would have been muted. Their deaths would have been seen as an unfortunate but unsurprising end to their 'unsavory' lifestyles. When at least ten Native women in B.C. were killed by one man in 1988, no prime minister attended their funerals. Fortyeight prostitutes have ,been methodically butchered in the Green River killings in Seat\lc over the past several years, but no press conferences have been convened- certainly there were no shots of the mayor with tears in his eyes. How many times have the 14 women killed last week been referred to as the elite ofthe country? These women have been eulogized as the country's future, a national treasure. But the true value of their lives has nothing to do with their potential as producers. These deaths arc equal to but not more important than the violence directed at women of all races and classes, at all times. We are giving them special attention because they happened here, to our peers. But until our rage is directed equally at all such events, we cannot be said to have understood the problem, nor to hav~ begun to solve iL photo by Kat• Kung �Wednesday. December 13. 1989 Page 2 • Joint Special Issue I• As the Concordia University Students' Association, we wish to extend our sympathies to t~e victims, the friends, and the families of those involved in the massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique last week. No students should be intimidated or afraid to study the subject that they wish to study, especially now. We owe it to the slain women to pursue our dreams and fight any attitude, individual or institution that tries to tell us that our goals are impossible, unconventional or against nature. o~ l }6) 11 I' I• Melodie Sullivan Shawn O'Hara CUSA Go-Presidents SALVE REGINA TO THEE ADTE WE CRY CLAMAMUS EXILDE EXULES THE CHILD FILII OF EVE EVAE TO THEE ADTE SUSPIRAMUS WESIGHE WEPING GEMENTES UPON LOSING MEMBERS OFUOFM ' I• From the members of CASE (Concordia Association of English Students) .----·· Our deep~st condolences to the relatives and friends of the fourteen women who died in pursuit of their dreams. · Our sympathies to the·family of Ann~-Marie Edward in particular, wl1ose brother Jimmy is a student in our department. Communication Studies, Concordia University. . _:-:=_ - On 6elialf of a{{ Mc(ji{{ students rJiie Students' Society of %c(ji{{ CUniversity wislies to el(tenrf its deepest sympathy to tlie fami{y & friends of J. (jenevieve :Bergeron 9-{i[ene Co{gan 9\{p.tliafie Croteau r.Barbara 1Jaigneau[t J.l.nne-Marie f£award :Jvfaua 9-faviemicl( 'Bar6ara Maria 1({uc.znil( \ .. .... Maryse Laganiere Maryse Lec[air Ylnne-Marie Lemay Sonia Pe[[etier Micliele 1\jc/iard Ylnnie St-Ylrneau[t Ylnnie rrurcotte I• �Joint Special Issue • Page • Wednesday. December 13. 1989 Media coverage: • Stranger lhan fict IOn by Danielle Comeau Dressed in a lumberjack coat and baseball cap, the dark figure stalks up the hill to the main campus building. Driven by forces beyond his control (a bad childhood, rejection by women, failure in life ... you get the picture) he goes on a deliberate and calculated killing rampage, hunting down young women in a celebrated technical college. After killing 14 women, he turns the gun on himself and blows his head off. Anyone near a radio, television or newspaper in the past week knows this is not the latest plot to another slasher B movie. The murders arc real. But their meaningsshiftsignificantly when re-told by the media. We try to make sense of events in our cv~ryday lives through what Raymond Williams calls "structures of feeling". Everything, from media reporting to everyday conversations, is structured by narrative and imagery. Events have a beginning, middle, and end, and this sense of closure, the feeling that things have been neatly tied up and explained, gives form to chaos. The media. s response to the bruiaf miiriler of 14 young women at L'Ecole Polytechnique falls into this trap. Continually re-telling the story, point by painstaking point, structures it in a way people can easily identify with. We arc all quite familiar with the Horror genre of narrative. The murders threaten established pauerns of thinking about the place of women in our culture, the dominant view of a liberal society which believes in fairness and equality. It is unthinkable to many that Marc Upine's murderous rampage is the logical, albeit extreme, manifestation of deeply ingrained sexist discourses in our culture. This is why Upinc must become a monstrous creature in order for us to make meaning of the situation. As a Freddie Krugertypc, he becomes simple and understandable. "BASTARD", as the Daily News cover headline screamed out. Rather then systemic sexism, which our culture as a whole is responsible for maintaining, the murders become the product of a single deranged mind. "The construction of the monstrous is a way of explaining all ills, rather as a child will say Mr. Nobody spilt the milk," writes cultural critic Judith Williamson. "It mitigates against the systemic nature of problems, focusing blame instead on a particular scapegoat" . • On Wednesday evening, the night of the murders, the media was already busy framing the tragedy in the terms of a Horror film. The unresolved enigma, "Who did it?", was answered the next day at a highly-charged televised press conference. Television, radio, and print news media moved at a frenzied pace to find biographical material about Upine. The question soon became, "Why?" as journalists and commentators searched for the "key" to why Upine murdered the women. Last Sunday's Gazette feature was simply entitled, "WHY?" in huge three-inch high type. As in Horror films, where expert opinion/ knowledge is sought to find out how to kill the monster (i.e. wooden stakes, silver bullets, daylight, etc.), so to tJ1e media dragged in "experts" to offer their opinions. Upine was a battered child. He changed his name from Gamil Gharbi when he was 18. He could not relate to women. He was rejected from the Armed Forces. His CEGEP psychologist remembers his sudden withdraw] from school as "strange". All this worked towards Upine "snapping" and committing his crime. This explanation fits easily into dominant discourses around women, gender, and sexuality. Upine becomes an incarnation of 'evil', an absolute beyond the control of human beings.J udith Williamson differentiates good and evil from moral values such as right and wrong which arc framed witJtin human activity. Thus, once again, it is possible for men to abdicate any responsibility for the murders because they stemmed from 'evil', something beyond their control, rather than from systemic sexism. • The debate which emerged in Montr~al media, and around the city, surrounded whether or not the murders arc symptomatic of the escalation of violence against women in Canada. It seemed obvious to many that Upinc's shouts of, "You are all feminists," as he methodically shot down women pointed to a deeply premeditated savagery against women. And yet, this point was hotly contested. Barbara Frum, moderating a panel discussion on CBC's The Journalthc night following the massacre, was almost obnoxious in her insistence that the murders hurt and offended both men and women. Toronto-based writer and broadcaster Junc Call wood pointed out repeatedly L~pine's actions stem from a culture whose tolerance of jokes about rape and wife-battering reflect a deeply engrained acceptance oftJ1c rights of men to control and hurt women. In Montr~al, at the vigil tlmt same night, feminists were called down for speaking. Nobody wanted to hear that these murders did not simply happen at the whim of a deranged mind, but were the logical manifestation of deeply held sexist attitudes. "Calm down," one man said to a woman who wanted to speak out, in an exchange captured by CBC television. As always, women were being told to be silent when anger and rage at the murders were more fitting. • Another aspect of the Horror genre is its sexual subtcxL Whether it's Frcddie Kruger assaulting a nubile young co-cd, or vampires biting helpless maidens, or even the vulnerable baby-sitter being stalked in an empty house. In every case, the very passivity and helplessness of the victims creates what Williamson calls a "frisson" in the audience. Fear is sexualized, as is the innocence of the victims. The media accounts of the massacre played. up all these elements, to the horrified yet insatiable curiosity of the audience. The premier, the mayor, even the prime minister all inv~ated the youth and innocence of the victims. The gory telling of details about the massacre, complete with elaborate diagrams of the killer's progress through three floors, all played into this desire. These arc all codes of representation which we often unconsciously respond to, so used arc we to seeing them re-created on the screen as fictions. One photograph, taken by Gazelle photographer Alien Mclnnis, depicted one of the murdered women sprawled in a chair. CBC television also had a short piece of video footage of this same scene. The photographer had to climb on the backs of two students and shot through a crack in the curtain. Never mind the clear lack of judgement in running this shot, if only tosparcfurtllerpain in family members and friends. The truly disturbing thing about this shot is the way it is coded almost like a porn photo. The young woman is seated in a chair, with her head and one should thrown over the back of the chair. Her long hair hangs down, while her throat is exposed and vulnerable. For anyone familiar with pornography, this shot is strangely familiar. The erotic undercurrents of this shot could not have been lost on either the photographer or the editors/ producers at the Gazelle and the CBC. Anoilier strong element of pomgraphy's coding is the playing upon the voyeuristic fantasies of the spectator. Part of the pleasure of being a voyeur comes from the knowledge that the image you arc viewing is both authentic, yet unable to return your gaze. The Gazette photo was taken unawares, with the curtain still visible in the frame. This only heightens, a tan unconscious level, the desire of the viewer. • What I've tried to map out, in an admittedly fragmentary manner, is a way to better understand how events become meaningful to us through the media. Despite the media's assertions of objectivity, there is nonetheless a very narrow terrain upon which meaning is created. In this case, a feminist 'reading' of thecventsofDccember6 is not even possible within the limits mapped out by the media. Instead, the goverment and the church took over and controlled the ideological determinants of the potential for meaning of the massacre. The funeral became a state-run affair, presided over by no less than 80 male clergy. The radical potential of mourning these women was effectively silenced as we were told by Cardinal Gregoirc that the murders were "an act of God", thus beyond the control and responsibility of men. CFCF and Tele-Metropole win the prize forobnoxiouscolourcommentary during the funeral broadcast. One almost got the feeling we were watching a sporting event, with non-stop play by play. Another problem with the coverage was the constant cuts to close ups of grieving family. This incredible invasion of private grief makes for great television. The only really moving parts of the funeral were the moments of complete silence, and the two brief readings by women students. It is amazing that in the more than two hour long service, in honour of 14 students murdered because they were women, only two women spoke. When one looks at the context which framed the funeral- 80 male clergy presiding, mostly men speaking, male dignitaries in the front pews - it is obvious what is happening on the terrain of meaning making. Close up of Cardinal Gregoire. Cut to a close up of Brian Mulroney. Cut to a slow zoom into one of the caskets. In a very real way, through the manipulation of representation, the massacre of these women has been colonized by patriarchal institutions. �Page 4 • Joint Special Issue Wednesday, December 73, 1989 Taking power to the streets by Joyce Lombardi Journalist Katc Dunn complained in Saturday's Gazette about a "foreign-looking" man harassing her mercilessly on the bus to work. She ignored him. With the massacre fresh in her mind, she felt only fear. As 1read this with the massacre fresh in my mind, I felt only anger. What stopped Dunn from turning around and unleashing her fury on the aggressor? What stops so many women from defending themselves on the streets? Fear. We have always been told to · ignore t11c stares, remarks, threats, gropes that arc thrust upon us in public. We obediently fall silent, believing either that it's not wortl1 the effort to challenge the bastards, or that the consequences will be worse if we do. Wrong. Silence is not a form of passive resistance in the daily gender war, it is passive acceptance. It is complicity. The concept of silence is enshrined in North American culture as public and private decorum. Loudness is rudeness. Talking back is disobedience. Women were silenced at Thursay's candlelight vigil for the victims. "Have some respect for the dead,"thcy shouted at us, cleverly twisting our breach of sacred silence into an act of blasphemy against our own sisters. We do have respect for the dead, only we chose to express it verbally. I wanted to scream, wail, singanything but conform to the op-· prcssive silence that has always muffled our rage. Yet I shut up, feeling suffocated. It is this very silence that allows the media, legislators, and our incredulous male (and even female) friends to deny the global war against women. Violence against women is the most pervasive and hidden form of violence in the world, yet very few people seem to know about it. And it is tllis very silence that convinces tlle Man in tllc street he has unlimited authority over me. TI1ereforc Imust explain calmly to the leering gent I do not find his attentions nattering. If he persists, even after repeated warnings, I simply punch him. The reactions I get range from "you little bitch!" to men actually fl!!cing from me, screaming "Help! She's crazy!" Not once have they hit me back. I realize I've been. lucky- it is quite likely that some asshole will pull a knife or gun on me one day. But I'm under this risk anyway, whether I "provoke" him or nol The fact that I am female is provocation enough. But no man ever expects a woman to fight back. Many arc surprised and even apolqgetic when I do. Others react with sheer hatred. Some women argue attention on the street can be nattering and non-aggressive. While a rare man may sincerely find a woman beautiful, and feel compelled to tell her so, he knows he has the power to comment on the physical appcar;ancc of a perfect stranger, rendering her body public property. The act of objcctifieation represents power abuse despite the best intentions. And the rapidity with which men's compliments turn to curses when we suggest his attentions are unwelcome proves his compliments were curses in the first place. No, boy-bashing isn't the most effective strategy for sensitizing and challenging male power, but any act offighting back is empowering. When I sec the look of fear on those men's faces, I realize I have power. He realizes I have power. I like to think that my actions will make him think twice before he harasses the next woman. I also like to think that she'll react with as much firm anger as I do. But it frustrates me that she usually doesn't. While I realize that violence bcgets violence, passivity also bcgets violence. Yes, I detest the Rambo mentality that rules the world, but I also detest the flower childmentalitythatallowsil Many women arc reluctant to fight back because they don't want to perpetuate a malc-<:reated violent society. Men arc violent, women arc pacific. As long as this mentality prevents women from dcfendinr themselves, we will be vie- tims. Women don't have to attack unsuspecting men on the streetsthat's violence. But just saying No to harrassment, that's self-defense. As Malcolm X said, sel-defensc is not violence, it is intelligence. The war against women is launched on numerous fronts, public and private, domestic and institutional. We must defend ourselves on every front. The easiest place to begin is on the street, a sort of self-empowerment training ground for larger political battles. Women, take your power. Don't wait for men to develop a conciousness and stop violence. It is our ultimate responsibility to stop violence against ourselves. Quand les femmes seron~ sans peur ... C'est avcc consternation que tourle Qu~bec a pris connaissance de la sinistrc nouvellc. Pas une femme n'a pu rester indiffcrente devant un acte d'une telle sauvagerie. En tant qu'~tudiantes, eel ~vcnement nous bouleversc particulicremenl On a assassin~ nos consreurs, peut-ctre des parentes ou des amies. Aussi, le Comi~ femmes ticnt-il aex primer scs plus profondes sympatllies aceux Cl cclles d'entre nous qui aujourd'hui sont en dcuil. • Jusqu'ou • Quatorz.c femmes sont executees a l'Ecole Polytechnique, plusieurs autres sont bles~es. Leurcrimc,ctre des femmes? Leur raison d 'ctreexecu~ : ~wdier dans un domaine traditionnellcmcnt reserv~ aux hommes? No us croyions (no us voulons croire, no us voulons dcsespercmentlc croire) qu' i1 s'agit d'un geste isol~. que l'assassin n'appanenait a aucun groupc, qu'il ne repr~sentaitaucuneopinion gcncrali~. Mais unechoscestcertaine : un hommc a tu~ des femmes. Vraisemblement, it avail po~ 1·~quation suivante : ctudiante en genie = vocation non-traditionnellc = fcministe en puissance = danger. No us avons plcur~ devantle tclcviseur. Ala fois d 'horreur et de compassion. Puis, en tant que militantes, no us avons sanglot6 de rage. Jusqu 'ou faudra+il all er pour Icur faire comprcndrc ... 7 •Combattons la violence faite aux femmes De l'humour sexiste au genocide, i1 n'y a qu'un pas. Toutc mysoginic, a petite comme agrande echelle, est une pone ouvene sur la violence. S'inscrirc contrc cette violence, qu'on soil un horn me ou une femme, est une question de dignit6 humaine. Le Comite Femmes de I'UQAM The Link Concordia University Montreal, Quebec Joint Special Issue, Wednesday, December 13, 1989 SpeclallsS\.Je Co-ordinators: Susano Bejar.lta Kendall. Heidl Modro Staff Editorial and Advertising Offices 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 Telephone Editorial: 848-7405 Advertising: 848-7406 Danielle Comeau. Eric LE3onard. Suzanne Diamond, Mlchael Orsinl, Minty Fownes. Kate Kung. Barbara Davidson, Heldi Hollinger. Karen Herland. Doug Simms, Andy Riga, Undo Gyulal, May a Bashour, Max Woii<:Jce, cart wllson. Alice O'Brien. Marielle Lelantier. Brigitte Elle. Morlon Schrler. Don Schuetze. The Varsity, Joyce Lombardi.Zeb Brown,Josette Cote, Le Comlte Femmes de I"UQAM, Sophle Couslneau, Sand re Hewton. Alison Loader. Robin Le Baron. The Plant · Special Thanks Jo Dovld Stelnlauf - The McGill Daily McGill University Montreal, Quebec Editorial Office 3480 McTavish, room B-03 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 Telephone: 398-6784 Business and Advertising Office 3480 McTavish, room B-17 Montreal, QC H3A IX9 Telephone: 398-6790 �Wednesday, December 13. 1989 Joint Special Issue • Page 5 Woman suffers anti-feminist backlash by Mike Orsini The fear many women are experiencing in the wake of the U de M massacre is especially real for activist Charlcnc Ncro, who was sexually harassed last weekend for her feminist beliefs. Ncro was approached by an angry womanhateron a train returning from a visit with her family in Welland Ontario last Sunday. Recognizing her face from a television news report, the man launched into an antifeminist tirade, calling Nero and the other vocal members of the collective "a bunch of fuckin' lesbians." Nero, a member of Lie Concordia Women's Collective, was interviewed last week in response to the massacre. "He said he had the prescription for what ailed feminism," said Ncro, referring to what the man on the train wanted to do to her. Nero said a conductor later threw the man out of the coach because he did not have a first class ticket But before leaving, the man wished death on vocal feminists. "He said 'you're the ones who deserved it,"'Ncrosaid. "It's too bad those 14 girls got killed and not you." Ncro said LCpine and the man who harassed her arc not alone in their sentiments. Radio phone-in shows since last week's tragedy have been inundated with calls from angry men blaming women for the problems in their life. "MarcL~pinedidn'tkill those 14 women," she said, "A society that tacitly approves sexism and systematically attacks women did." . "He (L~pine) was just saying what everybody else was saying all along, except he bought a gun." Nero said this incident has left her and many other women in a vulnerable position. "We're feeling a real sense of paralysis," said Nero, a Concordia journalism student "A lot of us have been made to feel like we're not allowed to grieve." Last month, Nero received a death threat from an anonymous male caller. She claims this was a response to the boycott of Upstairs launched by eight members of the collective the previous week against the popular student hang-out. Members o(the collective were tossed out of the bar for "persisting in showing affection in an offensive way," according to Upstairs owner Chris Gore. The women insist Gore's reaction was provoked by homophobia. "The caller said 'keep this up and you're dead,"' she said. "At first I thought it was somebody pulling some kind of a prank." In light of the recent massacre, that "once harmless" threat has become a "concrete warning" to vocal women's groups, she said. "If someone is going to kill feminists, I don't think there has been anybody in the community who has been more visible than us," she said. "We look like a very radical political group." Apart from the Upstairs incident, the col- lectivc has also been actively involved in the reinstatement of the Coors boycott at Concordia. · It also has pushed forthe Crown to reopen the case of the alleged gang-rape of a female McGill student by members of the Zeta Psi fraternity last year. Ncroadmittedshc'safmidbutsaidwomen must not abandon the struggle. Attacks like this arc an attempt to silence women," she said. "But if we retreat into our shells because we arc terrified, things are only going to get worse." At last Thursday's Univcrsit~ de Man- treat vigil, feminist speakers were met with loud jeers from many of the men. "Shut the ruck up," shouted one man as Nero began what was to be a very short speech decrying crimes against women. Carolyn Gammon, a member of Concordia's Lesbian Studies Coalition, said her group has also been targeted by misogynists. She said the coalition recently received hate mail from men "calling us foul-mouthed idiots." "Many people see lesbianism as the quintessential way of being anti-Man," Gammon said. Get out of your ivory tower! by Mux Wallacc At roughly the same time Wednesday as Marc L~pine was committing his murders, El Salvadoran government airplanes carried out a bombing mid, killing many innocent civilians. The U of M massacre received sevcml thousand column inches of newspaper coverage. The El Salvador attack received a little less than two inches in lhe Gazelle The Link and I he Daily are putting out a special issue on the massacre. No special issue has ever been devoted to the memories of tlle 50,000 Salvadoran civilians murdered by their government in the last ten years. "This tragedy is closer to home," say the media. Is it? The engines in the Salvadoran bombers were manufactured by Pratt and Whitney, a company which holds military contracts with some of the most repressive regimes . in the world. This is a tradition which goes back many years, including the years between 1939-1945, when the company did considerable business with Nazi Germany. But Pratt and Whitncy doesn't limit its dealings to right wing dictatorships. It is no less cosy with McGill and Concordia universities, which have courted and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from the company in the last five years. While t11c heads of both universities fall all over themselves "trying to make sense of this tragedy", they should look no further than their own research offices. According to federal government statistics, McGill is currently engaged in about a half million dollars wortll of military research while Concordia 's figure is just under $250,000. Several years ago, Concordia students voted in a referendum to declare their university a military free zone and forbid military research and recruiting on campus. The administration ignored their vote. Campaigning for the freeze, students charged that the militarization of society is linked with violence in all forms including violence against women and violence against minorities. Now we learn that Marc LCpine's greatest passion was war movies. But instead of exploring the roots, we rush to attack the symptoms. · The media and the politicians have quickly jumped on the gun control bandwagon. Keep the guns out of the hands of fanatics and this kind of thing can't happen, they say. Should we instead strive to send guns to highly trained armies who daily commit massacres far more grisly than last Wednesday's? At the memorial service Sunday, Mayor Jcan Do re offered these words: "Wc should look at the kinds of values we arc giving our kids." This from the man who recently lobbied for the expansion of a military production facility into one ofthccity's few protected green zones to fulfill a contract for a foreign army. This from the man who for years has actively courted military industry to Montreal, which already houses nearly half of all Canadian weapons plants. "It will create jobs and a strong economy," Dare explains, defending his decision to disregard a 1986 MCM policy opposing the establishment of new military industry in Montreal. How many jobs are created at the plant which manufactured Marc Upine' s semi-automatic rifle? The failure of the media, the sociologists, the criminologists, the politicians and even this special edition of the Link/ Daily, in analyzing last week's tra_gcdy, is a failure to come clown from their ivory tower and account for the views of the majority of society, the ones who aren't politically aware, university-educated or "enlightened". Mourir d'etre femme . Quatorze ctudiantes ont perdu la ~ic la sc~ainc dcrnicrc, as.s~sintes par un homme passion ne de la gucrrc et cpns de hame. envers.lcs fcmtms~es. Quatorze femmes ant payc de lcur vie leur d~sir de se r~ahscr plememcnt.Smte a une tell~ tmgCdic, des ~motions s' entrcmclent dans mon esprit; profonde trtstessc, dcsarrm, pcur et ... colcrc! . Colcrc parcc qu'il aum fallu unc tragcdic sans precedent pourq.u~ ~c vmlc sur la violence faite aux femmes soit lev~. Colcre parcc que nos poltttctcns refusent encore de rcgardcr la reali~ en face. Un gestc malheurcux et isole .. :·et ~urq.uoi pas une catastrophe naturellc tant qu'a y ctre? On chcrchc a~touffcr 1 aff~trc, ~ est tristectc'est tout. Et que dcvons nous fairc? Pcut-ctre attcndre une autre tucr~e du genre? A. combicn de « gestes isoles » chiffre-t-on un problc~c de soc1ete? Quoi, M. Bourassa, it n'y aurait pas encore assez de femmes assassm~cs, battues, violtes, harccltes? Bof, c'est la vie ... semble-t-on nous r~pondre. , Non, la violence faitc aux femmes n'cst pas « la vte », ce n ~t pas. un phCnomcne « normal >>qui fait partie des hauts et des bas de notresoct~t~. C est une rea lit~ sur laquclle socialemcnt it est trcs possible d'agir etc' est en cc sens que les r~ministes agissentetrcvendiqucnt Des femmes se regroupent pour gagner une cgalitc totalc, sans pcur et sans m~pris. Jc fais p~ie de ces « ~matures »que la societ~ considcrc ~tranges, marginales et mcna~antes qu on .nommc plus simplcmcnt fcministes. Je fais panic de ccllcs qui sont en deuil parcc ~u 'clles sont des femmes. Je fais partiC de cclles qui SC demandent a quand le JOUr OU les femmes Joscttc Cote scront sans peur... } J 1; ~ i. L-.....:...._ _ _ _..;;.....;.._ __..;.;.;..;.;.;.;.;~------ouo..:. �Wednesday, December 13, 1989 Page 6 • Joint Special Issue Media scars children by Suzanne Diamond The tragic massacre of December 6th is symbolic of the turbulent state of the collective unconscious of our society. The flood of perverse messages reaching the millions today through mass media have their subtle and not so subtle influences on the world. It's not so surprising to hear that a mock massacre of women had appeared on French TV a few days before the tragedy. The whole fabric of our society, as brought to us by television, is based on violence and corruption. "Boys are brought up to think that it'sOK touscanothcrman'sdaughter for his bodily urges" as one male cn_c Radio Noon phone-in caller pomted out the day after. "Women arc blatently presented to the younger generations as sex objects," another caller added. "11tese extreme acts arc mere indicators of the sickness of our society, but the underlying reality is the even scarier fact". Anyone who doubts a connection just has to look at the stark reality thatoneoutofthree women will be raped during their lifetime ... This says nothing of the violence and discrimination to be endured. Unfortunately, the subconscious mindislargelyignoredby ourculturc, so that all impressions received by people throughout life remain lurking, unconfrontcd, in the dark corners of the mind. A society which has turned away from any real moral and spiritual training is quick to leave its children open to the sexist, violent and inhumane media. The insidious messages being received by the majority of kids today point to a future which we can all fear. I Children arc not being brought up to value love, honor, integrity and understanding. Instead they arc being led to believe by our mass media that to get love you need sex. They arc being taught that all women should be looked upon as sex objects while people should achieve happiness through wealth and empires of greed. The media tells us thatsporL'i arc not for fun. 11tey arc for the purpose of winning so that makes it OK to cheat with hormones. The media also brainwashes us into thinking that for things to be acceptable they must look perfect It consequcnlly becomes acceptable to use damaging beauty products and make-up, and dangerous pesticides on our lawns and foods even though in thc·long term they do more harm than good. A holistic education is what is needed to avoid the pain and results of something like Wednesday's nightmare. Childhood scars, left by real life trauma, or subtly by TV, instead of being dealt with by our society, arc ignored and left to fester- with unpredictable and usually disastrous results. With barely any government funding for the needed recovery programs, the future looks bleak. These programs, such as eo-counselling, primal therapy and other internalized distress recovery techniques, do exist and can help prevent such hellish occurrences as took place last week, and the more pervasive root problems. Co-counselling, for instance, is based on thcsimpleprincipalsofcaring and support through interaction with a counsellor; like this it is possible to comes to terms with a trauma of the past, but not by forgetting them. Our times have imposed great pressures on the individual- for many, fear, hopelessness and vulnerability are pressing realities. As human numbers arc reaching their breaking point on the globe, so too is our ability to handle the responsibilities lltrust on us by a deteriorating world. With the faults of today's methods of raising children, the point of no return is creeping up on us. The important issues of the day, by Sandra Hewton I once knew a woman who dreamed of owning a farm by the , sea; green pastures, livestock, organic gardens of wildflowers and · vegetables. She once thought that she could choose how to attain that dream. To have a career of her choosing, retire when she was ready, get thaat bank loan, invest in her future, the future of the land which she owned and the welfare of the animals that shared that land with her. To work the acres with her hands, to pJow the crops,to have a small house always filled with fresh flowers from her garden and to enjoy each season as it came and went. And part of this dream was to share it with someone whom she loved. Those shattered dreams once belonged to me. I never asked to be born a woman, but I never wanted to be .. I (.~.J Different cultures have different ways of appeasing the subconscious forces - like dancing around a campfire, singing and praying. But in our day, liulc of this is widely encouraged. Children arc left with few accessible means of venting the more mystical aspects of their being, or of healing the deep wounds wrought on them by this world ... Shattered dreams anything else. I grew up through the post war fifties, the drugged out sixties, thcsexistsevcntiesand now, I and every other woman who had a dream wonders when · the pain ofDccembcr6th will ever go away. Fourteen women were murdered because they say we have dreams. I have a twin brother. He married his high school sweetheart. They have a son, a house in the suburbs ofToronto and a seemingly secure future of their choosing. He and his wife freely choose their lifestyle and along with it a set of values, aspirations and hopes. Because I am a woman, I will never have that same free choice to choose the way I wish to live my life. I will never have the same hour as he. We shared the same parcnts,atethesamefood,attended the same schools, watched the s;tmc television and shared many of the same dreams. My dreams arc different now. It is not because they have changed but because I realize the battle to attain those dreams will never end, and to hold onto my aspirations will take even a bigger fighL They say that I should blame society, yet who runs this so-called civilized world of ours? I have no one to blame except myseu· if I doru)t succeed, for the battle Is truly only beginning. As a wise old Native Indian woman once said, "Man cannot live without animals but, animals can live without mim." Man cannot live without women but I have managed to live the vast majority of my life without men. Women arc the life givers and nurturers. The gender of man is destroying this planet. Perhaps it is the gender of women that will save it. RALLY FOR WOMEN ONLY f. . which the children of tomorrow will have to face can only be overcome with co-operation, between people and between organizations. Tragically, our society does not value meditation for finding the peace willtin and puts no attention on Lite vast potential of the uncharted regions of the mind. Instead, educators focusonlyonthe external world. As we let this mistake continue, we leave the future with unstable foundations. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13TH at 7 PM Concordia · Union Francaise, 429 Viger Est (Metro Champ de Mars) \.UNIVERSITY McGIII Student Services The tragic avanllat tcole Polytachnlque have profoundly uddaned and horrlned the enUre Concord la community. On behalf of our faculty, students and staff, wa wish to extend our sincere condolences to all of those affected by the tragedy, and moat especially to the family, friends and colleagues of the victims. We offer our full support and encouragement to all of you In this moment of sorrow. 11 Dr. Patrick KennHf Rector aid V'ICe-Chancellor Dr. M.N.S. Swamy DBan. Fa:vly of EngineetirY; and Cm~paet Scknce JfiJ Bennett Ansar Mohammad Presided, CIXICMJia /.klivefsity Facvlty .A.slociation Presidmt, Concordia Graduate Sltxlents' Association Wailer Wheatley Ritva Seppanen ' Dawn Wise man Presider( Engineetilg and Carrpl.tet ScknceS!udentl' As3ociit1Dfl Melodie Sullivan & Shawn O'Hara Co-Presiderts. Concadia UrivetSly Studentl' Associalion 1: President, Cr««dia /.klivefsity NM-Academi: Slaff.A.slociition Presirknl, Concorcfa Univetsity Part-time Facv/ly Association I• e are all deeply distressed by the horrific incident experienced at Ecole Polytechnique on December 6. This senseless act against these young women specifically, and feminism generally, is a poignant reminder·of just how much remains to be done for women in our society. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to all those who were touched personally by this tragedy. �Wednesday, December 13, 1989 Joint Special Issue • Page 7 Violence against women has many precedents at universities Women targetted .on campuses by earl wilson other occasions last summer when attacks were narrowly averted. Sarah Asmussen ut Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo embarked on her own information campaign last year after administrators refused to publicize her attack in a WLU parking lot. campaign against date rape. where the student paper, The Cord Weekly, The CFS slogan was "No Means No." It persisted in runn.ing a violently sexist weekly Marc LCpine was an outsider at I'Ecole inspired some residents at the Kingston, column called "Bill Needle's Biorhythm." Pol ytcchnique. Ontario school to reply with banners an~ Needle's aggressive style includes such fine Butanyone familiar with recent incidences posters bearing messages like, "No means nourishes as referring to women as "clitori". of sexism on Canadian campuses might not kick her in the teeth," "No means harder," The Cord is a member of Canadian have been terribly surprised had LCpine been and "No means dyke." . University Press, .whose constitution forbids a student, or a faculty member. 1lte humourless joke mushroomed until the propagation of sexist, racist and Many have expressed surprise that the three to four hum! ·cd such signs appeared on heteroscxist material. The editors have VIOLENCE CONTINUES killings should havcoccured in a "sheltered" 1l1is fall, while women in Antigonish, residence windows and walls. The pledged to attempt to follow their Statement environment like a university, but violence Nova Scotia participated in a Take Back the administmtion at Queen's ordered their of Principles ~ore closely, but have also against women has a long tradition in Niglrt .march to protest violence against removal, but refused to take disciplinary promised Needle's return next term. Canadian universities. women, a student was sexually assaulted action. Carolyn Gammon ofConcordia's Lesbian outside the nearby St. Frant:is Xavicr "The explicit violence in those slogans is INSTITUTIONALIZED Studies Coalition cautioned against smugness University residences. very upseuing to me," residence director HARASSMENT in the ivory towers. Elizabeth Baugh said. "They say they're Campus media has also become the "Universities arc meant as jokes. It's classist and fairly hard as a woman to background for Concordia students Bcverly conservative," she read them and find Wrayand Minty Fownes to fight the school's Engineering Students Council and its said. "I've met inany humour." credible prejudice Residence coun- 'humour' organ,thc Rcbogge. Last fall, Fowncs an~ Wray wrote a teller and bigotry at cil spokesperson Concordia." David Leech af- to Concordia's Link newspaper to object to Gammon poinfirmed that council an offensive image in a poster for an ted out that the "disapproved of the engineering party. TheRcboggcretorted with Universit~dcMon­ signs that were up," a"Special Bcv and Minty Issue" in November tr~al slayings canbut felt . punitive 1988, a broadside making allegations about not be isolated from action would be .a the two women's private lives, creating "smaller" events. negative approach fantasized sequences involving them and "ll's a war of mito the problem. A including brutal insults. The two women brought eleven Rebogge sogyny," she said, special gender ·contributors before a commiuee that found "and it'sconnccted issues awareness to all other inweek will be held in them guilty of "discrimination based on cidents." the residences in gender and sexual orientation," in violation of the university's non-academic Code of Montr~alers will January. Conduct. recall the events of The engineers appealed the de-cision. So last year, when a INNOCENT. did Wray and Fowncs, who were upset woman alleged she FUN? because the commiuee had dismissed the was gang-mpcd at Jocelyn Collier, charge of sexual harassment. But the second a party hosted by .eo-director of the ruling ac-tually lessened the original sanctions McGill fraternity Concordia Wo- levied against the offenders, and re-fused to Zcta Psi. men's Centre, re· label the incident as ha-rassment. A publication grelled that such "Anyone who read the paper would know ban on details oft he The woman escaped without serious injury, case was recently renewed, and no criminal butas.Kathcrinc Reed, executive director of ins lances arc not often taken seriously. "for that it was sexual harassment," Fownes said. "You don't need a wriucn definition to un· charges have been laid. This forced the victim the Antigonish Women's Resource Centre, some it's a cause for humour," she said. · "They're all contributing factors and all derstand what it is." to launch a civil suit against her alleged said "that docsn 't mean the crime has been partofthcsamethingas the Ude Mmurders," The meaning of sexual harassment also aggressors as a last resort to a justice system lc.c;scnccl." 1 she added. posed a problem for University of Toronto that failed her. In early October, other attacks took place A University ofToronto men's residence part-time student Bevcrly Torfason. The One can only imagine how many women at the University of Victoria, in British were raped, assaulted or threatened qn Columbia. Two women were assaulted within was marred by sexist sign-posting this term, university sexual harassment board was Canadian campuses this year and said nothing. five days of each other. But the university as well. Burwash residence at U of T's divided in a recent decision on her complaint Ninety per cent of rapes and, likely, almost admiriistmtion took no action to improve Victoria College held an "Ugly chicks arc againstche.mistryprofcssor Richard Hum mcl people too," party on September 29, -divided neatly along gender Iincs. all sexual harassment cases in society still go campus security. advertised around the college. The committee was composed of three unreported, according to the National Shannon McAiceseofthe UVic Women's Student DianeZom tried to get the posters women and two men, so Torfason 's grievance Organization of Women. . . .· . . Centre said mectingspetwcen .thc.Centreand . School .administrations often dtscouragc the administmtion resulted only in "hot air taken down and encouraged people to boycott. was upheld. Hummcl was accused of harassing the dissemination of information, afraid of and no action." Lighting levels, night patrol the festivities. "It is not a joke. It's really derogatory," she said. Torfason at a school swimming pool. "He copycat crime- and bad publicity. staff and com-munication bet-ween students But Burwash South House president Len would swim beside me for four lengths," Even the McGill administration's Senate and campus security remain poor, she said. Gambin refused to back down, and the party Torfason said. "He'd stare at me for two Committee on Women, which has an official Also this fall, first-year student Heather went ahead as scheduled. · minutes. That's a long time." sub-committee on safety, is unable to get Reid was beaten up at a University of ToResidence hijinx insulting to women also Torfason is 32, and a professional engineer access to information on campus sexual ronto residence party when she tried to protect caused trouble at Wilfred Lauricr University who takes one course per session at U ofT. assault. a male friend. As many as five men took part When the encounters with Hummel began to "We've been trying to get those statistics in punching and kicking her, anu one threw (WLU) in Waterloo: A traditional 'panty raid' led to a ban on occur on a regular basis, she changed her fortwoycars.Sccuritymusthavcthcirrcasons her against a window. the practice by university president John swim time and, with hesitation, registered a for witholding them, but I don't know what Weir in late October, after a month of media complaint. they arc," Rhonda Am set, chair of the sub"NO MEANS KICK HER IN coverage and a committee's decision that the After a series of appeals, the board moved committee said. university could no longer condone activities last week to rcafftrm the original decision to THE TEETH" "I strongly agree that information on safety "demeaning to either gender." ban Hummel from the pool for the next five Sexual violence on campuses does not should be widely available to students," But the season of sexist frolic was not yet years. always take a physical form. Much more shcsaid. Torfason later proposed some changes ·to After two women we~ sexually assaulted com-mon is harassment, and 'pranks' whose over. The next month, a foyer was draped at knifepoint in a Vani er College washroom intentions, according to the men, may or may withabanncradvertising"WomenforRent," the university's sexual harassment policies last January, employees received a memo not be malevolent but whose effects terrorize in reference to a fund-raising 'serf-for-a- and procedures. As at Concordia, the process day' event inoneofthc women's residences. was plagued by the geneml tendency to take telling them to keep it quiet, according to female students. Dean of Students Fred Nichols removed women'sfcarsofassaultandunwantcdsexual The most chilling of these events this year Vanier security head Jcan-Pierrc Barbcau. Similarly, warning signs in the University occurred in early November, when hundreds the banner after "members of the WLU aucntion lightly. ofToronto 's women's lockerrooms mention of residence rooms at Queen's University community" registered their disgust, and local with files from Canadian University Press the danger of theft but not assault, despite an were adorned with signs mocking the newspapers ran photos of the offending sign. These events took place at a university assault last Victoria Day weekend and two Canadian Federation of Students' (CFS) ,, �Wednesday, December 73, 7989 Page 8 • Joint Special Issue ~- The members of the office of the status of women received the news of the massacre of the fourteen young women at the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal with horror. We are joining our voices with the thousands of other women's voices, at Concordia and within all universities, who are crying and in mourning. Our sympathies go to the families and friends, and also to all women and men who are under the shock of the tragedy. ifhe women of the Concordia Women's Centre ... The entire McGill University community extends its most profound sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of the students who aied at l'Ecole Polytechnique. ,. Toute la communaute de l'Universite McGill tient a exprimer ses plus profondes condoleances aux families, amis.et colle~es des·victimes de la tragedie al'Ecole Polytechnique � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 78 Issue Special Joint Issue: The Link - The McGill Daily Page Number(s) 1-8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Stranger than fiction Description An account of the resource On page 3, a critique of media coverage of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, focusing on the coverage's individualizing and sensationalizing rhetoric and its disregard for any discussion of systemic sexism. This article was published in a special joint issue published by The McGill Daily and the Link, one of Concordia University's special issues. The entire issue has been uploaded to the archive in order to present student news coverage of the event in context. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Danielle Comeau Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily, The Link Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989/12/13 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF École Polytechnique massacre feminism non-McGill sexism https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/e4a37918eabae711f4d8815ed6906610.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=OsZWH%7Ef8423GIse8H0R5LgZKfKIzuzpsCahfm7jkaLw4ilKMRtcI4pGgjGI2yfbDIR8FpHxAQw0sa1OKU%7EiyKbgkS5x7EthJryHJ6D6yHd9YbYLQuwOXLCtCuoTGLZOzEw-ldB5HB%7Eqr2Kc4ngGZLQs2oeiTgcS2PE3q0Zjr3sg67hn3PThGHZS2gbxd6Z6PhOIKcmETJY7wbUAPLEF1rB0RgOTD3Z1SKQRSDcoYaK4QtCia0N%7EsAjIYmyGV2FL6ki5JPYyxQe4oa5%7EKZWm88a1WSRe0YzR2Q6nMU1pEYx5ObJv6qgpabcBV9v05HBiWJkCGyAbGfszxF5vq7Vw%7Eeg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM b26887c3ba4e284b785f5394bfb193e1 PDF Text Text DAILY LA PREMIERE EDITION DU DAILY FRAN IS A L'INTERIEUR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1994 redistributing the poverty since 1911 VOLUME 84 • NUMBER 2 Hemp-advocacy stores raided Ontario cops enforcing much-ignored law Rob bins says the law is enforceable. "Will the courts stand behind the law? I don't have much say in that," he noted. Bob Lazic of Shakedown Street in Kitchiner, which has been selling BY AuBREY CoHEN Ontario cops are starting to enforce a Federal anti-drug-promotion law which, although in place for almost 10 years, had not previously been .: enforced. In the past month, stores in Ontario which distribute hemp literature and other hemp-related products haye been raided by the police. The cops confiscated thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, and in at least one case their actions were illegal. Section 462.2 of the Canadian Criminal Code for drug use states "Everyone who knowingly imports into Canada, exports from Canada, manufactures, promotes or sells instruments or literature for illicit drug use is guilty of an offense and :. is liab]e on summary conviction." : . According to Mike Bourque of Help End Marijuana Prohibition Canada, the recent raids are "harassment plain and simple ... The Jaw won't stand up. The hemp stores across Ontario are being harassed S if out of business." JeffProssoflOOo/o Hemp Corn- 0.]. Simpson," he reasoned. Howpanyin Kingston described the raid ever, Robbins did comment on the at his store, which occurred on Au- law in general. He cited the idea of "intent for use" in the lawasajustigust 30. "[Officers] came in and took ficationfortheseizureofthingslike approximately $500 retail worth of rolling papers, pipes and bongs, stuff. That entails books, including which can be and are used legally books that are available at the King- with tobacco. ston public library. They took t-shirts, cigarette papers, stickers, newspaper articles off my wall, pipes (and) bracelets." Pross says he does not believe he BY MEtANIE NEWTON is promoting use of illicit drugs. "I've never told anyone where to Feminist activists in get it. I've never told anyone to should be getting a little extra help around the end ofSeptember, when smoke it," he said. "This all happened contrary to a a new and comprehensive women's bookprior agreement between me and resource guide hits the local police forces," said Pross. stores. Cella Moore and Laura Tucker, "[When we opened,] we paid a lawmembers of the McGill Womtwo yer to go to the various police forccompiled Girl Guide: A Union, en's es, tell them what we were about to for Women LivResources w Guide do and ask if there was any probhope that it the in Montreal in ing lem with that. They said, as long as networking greater facilitate would we were not selling drugs, there was and their activists local between nothing they could do." the US. Canada, across counterparts Detective Staff Sergeant Robbins world. the and of the Ontario Provincial Police "It's a collection of resources and Drug Enforcement Branch in Kingof relevance to women livservices ston refused to talk about the bust That includes servMontreal. in ing of 1OOo/o Hemp Company, or chargorganizations women's and ices es pending. And we've women. for specifically "I don't want it to turn out like . MARIJUANA CLOSET cHEMISTRY I ( ( • ,.The hemp stores across Ontario are being harassed out of business. rr Mike Bourqrle of Help End Marijuana Prohibition Canada "There is a pattern here ... I've never seen anyone smoke (a cigarette) through a bong," he noted. Robbins said that literature advocating legalization of hemp and/ or marijuana "is a borderline thing. If they're advocating production, preparation or consumption, it's illegal." He explained why he had not previously enforced the law. "We have not had a problem here. We haven't had [head shops], we don't want them." Pross gave his own explanation. "Maybewe'regettingtooorganized ... asalegalizationmovement,"hesaid. hemp literature for two years, had a similar experience. On Aug. 4, the · police "confiscated $4,000 in books, but they ended up returning them ... due to an illegal seizure," he said. Lazic also contacted the authorities before opening his store. "I went right down to the main police station and they said it's all right as long as you're not using (the information in the books)." Staff Sergeant Mittelhotz, head ofthedrug-enforcementdivision of the Kitchiner police, said the material was confiscated because, "we continued on page 5 New feminist guide for Montreal adivists included services [both] internationally and in the US. that we feel offer a particularly innovative or creative solution to a problem faced by community groups in Canada and the US.," said Tucker. Girl Guide happened almost accidentally, beginning as an attempt to update the Women's Union referral service. With the help ofa loan from the Students' Society, and funding from the Post Graduate Students' Society and the Science Undergraduate Society, Moore and Tucker have turned several years of information gathering into a roughly 200-page book. Johanne Cadorette, an employee ofL'Androgyne, noted that there is a serious need for a resource book of this scope. She stated that besides Girl Grlide, the only other such fern- inist guide the bookstore sells is an outdated compilation that she would not recommend. Tucker agreed with this assessment. As she was putting the book er, she noticed how much still to needs to be done in feminist activism in Canada, particularly in comparison to the US. "They [the US) have national organizations for people who pee in the shower. Canada does not have a national gay and lesbian organization. They have national organizations coming out of their assholes and we can't get one together." Tucker hopes that the information which Girl Guide provides will inspire Montreal feminists to aim at bigger, more effective national organizing, and allow them to benefit from feminist activism from other countries. As she points out, laws and resources may differ from country to country but some things are universal. "If they produce a pamphlet on lesbian health, that's as useful to dykes in Canada as dykes in New York." The guide is divided into 14 major sections, covering feminist activity in such areas as media and the arts, ethnic and cultural communities, law, politics, religion, violence against women, parenting and health. 500 first nm copies ofGirl Guide: A Guide to Resources for Women Living in Montreal should be availa· ble by late September at L'Androgytte, the McGill Women's Unior1, and pas· siblyat community centres around tlu city at benveen $10-15. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 84 Issue 2 Page Number(s) 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New feminist guide for Montreal activists Description An account of the resource Describes the work of two members of the McGill Women's Union to publish a collection of resources and services relevant to women living in Montreal. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Melanie Newton Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994/09/13 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF activism feminism non-McGill The McGill Women's Union Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/4ceab0725183e5303173c229f21b34a9.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=p4Y7HgSz7zP0IbOFGpu-2JMDhTrNKY9Opq1uYkPrcd-obwPd2y6iEE7PzQGY6WzquW88NJFrYLs-PY1w7GVSTiU%7EOZrV4Gp1kSZml0Hz3p5-hMTotXyy8-CsjRd%7EHFf%7EW6Z%7Es6k9TrmCzzkpfSGU3oASS4OTPFDBZD4JhzXdP4Oo2CME01y4%7E9MganJ61j54Ddkksqjn55-TUksPYw3pOQV0FgHYFJAWXONVMfUVmoRAtVlnCedfhXGgV53z%7EYIIjvChYh2%7EogF1nO8SmlxjXTQrr%7EJ7smPAK22yJvU7elTHhCwXuxGiFParydDdqLktqnrIP6yg5sJVU%7ESH1rbDfQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 2e888a09bea743d2e422472fdb3be1c3 PDF Text Text 4 Dang erous Infor inati on Rape Drug Recipe available on the Internet by Samana Siddiqui A lthough many praise the Internet for the large amount of Information it provides, they are often weary of the potentially dangerous Information at a surfer's disposal, which now includes the recipe for a date rape drug. For the last few months, recipes for the drug GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate) have been available on the Internet. GHB, a sedative, Is one of many drugs used In substance-related date rape or sexual assault. GHB renders its victim unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault. After the incident occurs, she has no recollection of it. Cases like this have occurred primarily in the U.S., but have also surfaced in Canada, including an incident at McGill. Last October several women were approached at Gert's pub by a man who ofto buy them drinks. According to reports filed later at the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) after drinking the beer the women began shaking and convulsing. The incident was linked to the drug Rohypnol, also referred to as a rape drug. "Like so many things, Canada is playing catch-up to the U.S. It's pretty unfortunate in this case," said Paul Danylewich of the White Tiger Street Defense. The Montrealbased organisation teaches assault prevention education to female students at various colleges and high schools in greater Montreal and eastern Ontario. "In the last couple of years we've seen it grow and· basically a it's at a point where it's a national concern In the U.S.," he added. "I see it as an emerging threat." The Drug Enforcement adminIstration in the US has seized Rohypnol in 23 states. guy In those types of cases and it probably feels good to have that clarity. But I think the reality Is that most sexual assaults are perpetrated by people you do know." "Giving [substance-related concern about the Issue of Rohypnol-related sexual assault will allow them to see or to Investigate for themselves the Issue of sexual assault on the whole and to better understand it and to do something about it." "Rohypnol rape" refers to the use of the drug Rohypnol or flunltrazepam to knock unsuspecting women unconscious and then rape them. Rohypnol acts as a strong tranqulllzer impairing judgment and motor skills, produdng memory loss and a loss of inhibition. Combined with alcohol, its effects are augmented and can involve blackouts lasting up to 24 hours. The drug is colourless, odourless and virtually Danylewich said he has seen the Internet sites with GHB recipes himself. Moreover, at a recent workshop he presented, high school students said they had also found it on the Internet. llut despite this availability of information, others are not so sure the threat of substance-related sexual assault is as serious as Danylewich suggests. Christina Gravely is External Coordinator of SACOMSS. While she admits that cases of drug-related rape are happening, she says recent attention on it "functions as the myth about the aggressor In the bushes or stranger sexual assault." "It's easy to see who's the bad sexual assault) too much attention is problematic but being aware of it Is Important," she added. "I just kind of hope that In the long run, people's attention and undetectable. Most of the media attention and controversy has centred on Rohypnol. However, it Is only one of many drugs used for this purpose. • 0 Over the decades, alcohol and substances such as chloral hydrate or "Mickey Finns" have been used to sedate individuals for sexual assault. But the most recent threat, it seems, Is GHB, which Is one of the "in" drugs according to Lt.-Detective Steve Roberts of the MUC Police's Sexual Assault Unit. "GHB is the new drug, everyone takes it," he said. The other common drug is Ecstasy. Both cause some form of memory loss, but GHB is much worse. Roberts said people take GHB to loosen up, and it is used at house parties, clubs and bars. "Most of the people take it voluntarily," he explained. But while GHB recipes are easily accessible on the Internet, the solution, censoring them is not the solution, according to some. "You can, from a book in the library [learn) how to hang somebody, you can learn how to make a bomb, you can pick up a chemistry book and learn how to mix chemicals," said lngrid Hein, an Internet columnist with Eye weekly newspaper in Toronto and Montreal freelance journalist. "The fact that it hurts women doesn't lead me to believe we should censor it," she added. "Let's hope people are educated enough not to use it for that purpose." Gravely agrees. "I don't think the Information In and of Itself Is dangerous," she said. "It's the desire to do evil with the Information that's the problem." al Ne-ws Brief s � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 87 Issue 14 Page Number(s) 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dangerous information: Rape Drug Recipe available on the Internet Description An account of the resource Covers an increase in the use of Rohypnol, a date-rape drug, which started to surface at McGill starting in 1996. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Samana Siddiqui Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997/10/20 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF drug use non-McGill sexual assault Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/ee7480c69c769fa3ff483a1e98d09cb2.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=F3fakfe-GSw13LGcxMGDWmTVP9VKsnwGKz1jIWDuxzzDzmL9gePAym1mmoH55WogauVuJsqJncoPcFflECjgiXCTwqJzLDh9eo5CIl6w4N9ZFVvYlMPGGS-wlFoCycjV9XTvxeVvyrHGI3rne511t0OHF0ZBgO89TEs84-xxtKNjNm6QmixHxxk4g0L4Ul9yGPp4T%7EeYgo9O3MSIoE6OrB9gZ0N1y0yKkmWtIApTeOblapPlNTP8EbdfPIf5K%7ELeG1XB7a8QwmUTybHe6gHyD76e%7ETcsRd4SS%7EOzL7oipI%7EwgKOl4GYuwS45G3HuQad9mcsqEnCxICyL4sBc6SrQ4Q__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 8d4b6a3586609c0aad88b6105259adb4 PDF Text Text 8 features November 5, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily “THIS IS NO LONGER A SAFE PLACE” HOMOPHOBIC POLICING IN QUEBEC, 2007-PRESENT GAY CRUISING Cruising refers to the practice of walking or driving around a public area in search of a sexual partner. This practice has historically allowed queers, especially men, to fulfill their sexual needs while at the same time circumventing the constraints imposed by homophobia. Cruising is largely non-verbal. Eye contact and body language are used to signal sexual interest and consent. HETEROSEXISM Heterosexism posits that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality and that heterosexuality is the only valid sexuality. It also involves discrimination against queer people and internalized homophobia. BAITING Baiting is a common entrapment tactic used by agents provocateurs. It involves purposefully misleading individuals into committing a crime. Police use gay cruising codes, such as sustained eye contact, to provoke sexual encounters between themselves and queer men, leading the men from whom they have solicited a sexual act to technically violate sections 173(1) or 271(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code. BY ACAB content warning: homophobic slurs, targeted arrests n August 28 2017, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officially apologized for “the events that took place during different police operations in gay bars and clubs during the ‘60s to the ‘90s.” Emphasis on bars and clubs. Purposeful omission of parks and public washrooms. Homophobic policing practices on the island of Montreal are far from over. With the collaboration of the Services des Grands Parcs, three neighbourhood police stations in Montreal have launched coordinated attacks on men who use the wooded areas and public washrooms of parks for the purposes of consensual sexual encounters with other men. Similar projects have been launched by the Service de Police la Ville de Longueuil (SPAL), the Service de Police de la Ville de Saguenay (SPVS), the Service de Police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ), and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). Using their knowledge of gay cruising practices, plainclothes cops continue to harass, ticket, and arrest men who seek out sexual companionship in places other O than those officially recognized and legally sanctified by heterosexist sexual norms. Having co-opted our shared understanding of location, plainclothes cops are able to exploit, in a discrete, and largely unforceful manner, our need for affection and sexual companionship. The number of arrests made within the context of these supposedly gender- and sexualityneutral “anti-indecency” operations is alarming. Together, the SPVM, the SPAL, and the SPVQ have arrested at least 300 men for cruising in public spaces since 2007. I say “at least” because the statistics obtained by filing access to information requests with these police services did not include statistics for certain projects or years. Equally as striking are the sums of money that the Service des Grands Parcs has spent trying to make parks on the island of Montreal less attractive to men who have sex with men. A conservative estimate suggests a sum of approximately 2.2 million dollars. Knowledge of gay cruising practices has made it remarkably easy for private security forces and police services to entrap men who have sex with men. Thwarting their ability to do so requires that we understand the tactics that police services use in order to entrap us while cruising. For reasons that will be explained below, police services in this province tend to make use of sections 173(1) and 271(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code when hunting down men who have sex with men. Criminal code accusations are not the only tactics currently being used by cops to harass men who have sex with men. In an underhanded attempt to mask the homophobic nature of their repressive operations, Longueuil police have started using a seemingly mundane municipal bylaw to crack down on men having sex with men in public spaces. MODUS OPERANDI Accusations under section 173(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code Currently, Section 173(1) is the most common accusation being made against against gay men in the province of Quebec. Section 173(1) makes illegal the wilful performance of “an indecent act in a public place in the presence of one or more persons, or in any place with intent to insult or offend any person.” Section 173(1) takes after its now repealed predecessor, �features section 157, which prohibited acts of “gross indecency” and was almost exclusively used for the purposes of persecuting homosexuals. Like section 157, section 173(1) is terminologically vague; the term “indecency” is (purposefully?) left undefined. This feature of section 173(1) has made it the weapon par excellence of homophobic police in the province. Drawing on an analysis of a homophobic police sting published in the December 1980/January 1981 issue of La Berdache, and on municipal court rulings describing these stings, we have done our best to expose the strategy of undercover cops who lay charges of “indecency” under section 173(1). The first step to any “successful” operation involves selecting a known gay cruising ground; however, in most, if not all cases, the selection process can be completely foregone thanks to a heterosexist public that actively reports sightings of men engaged in “indecent” activities with other men (or so police say). Once a cruising ground has been selected, the officer, now in plainclothes, picks a spot and loiters (sexily?). Though he is obviously not interested in any form of sexual exchange, the “success” of the operation depends upon his ability to convince other cruisers that he is interested in having a sexual encounter. To avoid being accused of entrapment, however, the cop cannot express this interest verbally (if he does, the courts are much more likely to see through his little game); instead, he expresses his interest by purposefully failing to object to the non-verbal sexual propositioning of other cruisers, as well as by staying put and taking on the role of the passive, voyeuristic observer. Let us recall that for charges to be laid under section 173(1), two requirements must be fulfilled. First, an “indecent” act must take place. Second, this “indecent” act must be committed in the presence of “one or more persons” or “with the intent to insult or offend any person.” Though “indecency” is left undefined, an examination of two recent court cases in which police laid charges of “indecency” against gay men suggest that police understand this term to mean exposure of one’s genital organs for the purpose of sexual gratification. For this reason, the undercover cop waits until the clothed foreplay is over and a sexual act begins to reveal his true identity. Once the cruiser has unclothed the lower portion of his body, the first requirement of the “crime” has been fulfilled. As we have seen, for the accusation to hold in court, the sexual act must have been committed in the presence of “one or more persons.” This is where the second undercover cop makes his appearance. After having November 5, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily lurked unnoticed, he now appears to witness the sexual act. The second requirement is now fulfilled and a charge of “indecency” can be laid against his unsuspecting victim. “He moved slowly, in a 90 degree arc-like fashion, back and forth, all the while looking at me with interest...” —Anonymous In many cases, however, the requirement that the act be performed in front of “one or more persons” is given a lax interpretation both by police and the courts. In R. c. Martin, a 1997 court case involving a plainclothes cop and a cruiser in Parc Angrignon, Judge DENAULT slyly circumvents this requirement by arguing that the plainclothes cop was a member of the public at the time of the interaction (how convenient!). For the plainclothes security guard provoking a sexual encounter between himself and a cruiser in the washrooms of Montreal’s Eaton Centre back in 2017, on its own, the fact that other people “auraient pu voir le PRÉ se masturber” (could have seen the defendant masturbating) was seen as fulfilling the (seemingly?) more stringent criterion that the act actually be performed in front of “one or more persons.” Last year’s Eaton Centre arrest, though it was carried out by a private security firm rather than by state agents, is characteristic of the kinds of operations carried out by plainclothes cops in the province of Quebec for the purposes of laying accusations under section 173(1). For this reason, and for reasons that will soon become clear, this arrest it is worth dwelling upon a bit longer. According to the police report written by the arresting officer, the events surrounding the cruiser’s arrest happened as follows: “We arrived at the Eaton Center to meet [REDACTED], head of Eaton Centre security who informed us that the man was being detained after having masturbated in front of the urinals of the Eaton Centre. He began by explaining to us that such behaviour represents an important problem in the Eaton Centre. Since a few weeks, men have been showing up at the urinals in order to masturbate. They frequently make their way there in order to meet other men for the purposes of masturbating in front of the urinals. According to the security guard, seven men have been caught performing indecent actions in the washrooms of the Eaton Centre. In order to remedy [the ‘problem’ of consensual sexual encounters between men], [Eaton Center security] installed cameras in the 3rd floor washrooms of the Eaton Centre and a security guard works in plainclothes in order to catch individuals in the act.”[...] “Using the cameras, they notice the defendant make his way to the urinals, around [TIME STAMP], located in the 3rd floor washrooms of the Eaton Centre. They therefore send their plainclothes security guard [REDACTED]. [...] The defendant exchanges a few glances with security guard [REDACTED]. About 2 or 3 minutes later, the security guard notices the defendant’s erection and that he is making thrusting movements while holding his penis, all the while looking at [REDACTED]. The security guard notices the man masturbating. [...] When security guard [REDACTED] notices the defendant masturbating, he exits the washroom and communicates with the security control centre in order to proceed to the arrest of the defendant” [my emphasis]. In order to exculpate the plainclothes agent, the arresting officer fudges the amount of time during which the cruiser and the plainclothes agent exchange glances. Video footage of the events show the plainclothes agent exchanging glances with the man for a period of five to six minutes – exchanging and holding gaze is a common way of determining interest and consent. On his way out of the washrooms, the cruiser is tackled to the ground by numerous security guards—a fact that is conveniently omitted from this incident report. The report continues: “Agent X then asks the defendant why he comes to do this at the Eaton Centre. The defendant responds by saying that the washrooms at the Eaton Centre represent an important meetup spot for homosexual people wishing to have sexual exchanges with men.” [...] “The Morality division of the SPVM is aware of the problem affecting the 3rd floor washrooms of the Eaton Centre. It has been a recurrent problem for many weeks.” At the beginning of this report, security head X claims that the “problem” of cruising is a problem that dates back only “a few weeks.” This claim is grossly misleading. The ninth floor washrooms of Chez Eaton, the now renovated and renamed mall after which Montreal’s Eaton Centre is named and beside which Montreal’s Eaton Centre currently stands, were used for cruising as far back as the early 9 ’80s. More upsetting, however, is the way in which, a few moments after the cruiser informs X that the third floor washrooms in the Eaton Centre are a well-known meetup spot, the officer writing the report reaffirms in his closing lines that the “problem” of cruising “has been a recurrent problem for many weeks.” The cops performing the arrest overlook the defendant’s attempt to historicize his action, choosing instead to reassert the narrative that has been fed to him by both security personnel and the SPVM’s morality division. To cast the defendant as a threat to public safety, security and police actively sought to dehistoricize the phenomenon of cruising. To do so, they tell tales of men suddenly flocking to public washrooms to engage in sexual behaviours. The phrase “since a few weeks, men have been showing up at the urinals in order to masturbate” is so much more scary than the phrase “since first opening its doors, Eaton Centre washrooms have served as a meeting ground for men seeking consensual sexual relations with other men.” By dehistoricizing the defendant’s act, security and police effectively polemicized the defendant’s act — an act that is otherwise common, mundane, harmless, and dare I say, hot. When security and police say that the “problem” of cruising is recent, what they really should be saying is that cruising is a phenomenon that they have recently gotten into the habit of problematizing. Accusations under section 271(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code Police in the province of Quebec continue to use charges of “sexual assault” to punish men who engage in consensual sexual relations with other men. Police documents reveal that between the years of 2012 and 2013, the SPVM was ready to make use of this section of the criminal code within the context of at least two “anti-indecency” projects — on that targeted Parc Angrignon (Opération Sentier) and the other that targeted Maisonneuve Park and le Boisé de Pères (Opération Narcisse), all of which are wellknown cruising grounds. The SQ is known to have made use of this article of the Criminal Code during its undercover operations that took place back in 2010 on Île Melville — another gay cruising ground. Accusations under section 271(1) are made in much the same way as those that are made under section 173(1). A plainclothes cop places himself in or around a known cruising ground and waits. This time, however, he is not waiting for an unsuspecting cruiser to show him his genitals, nor is he waiting for his accomplice to witness any exhibitionistic act. This time, he is waiting for the cruiser to touch him. Once the cruiser touches the cop, he �10 features November 5, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily is arrested, and a charge of sexual assault is laid. The truth, however, is that plainclothes cops do not just “wait” for their victims to “fall” into their traps; they actively court them, misleading and manipulating them every step of the way. The following is the testimony of a man who was arrested for “sexual assault” on a plainclothes cop in the Parc de l’Île Melville back in 2010. It does remarkable job at highlighting the kinds of misleading foreplay that plainclothes cops actively engage in when trying to “catch” men who have sex with men. More than simply loitering around and waiting to be touched, the undercover cop purposefully maintains the gaze of his victim, adamantly pursues him through the woods, engages him in friendly conversation, conversationally suggests that he is gay, and finally, offers his victim his ass: “Before leaving the park, around [TIME STAMP], I returned to the first parking lot, for a few minutes, to see if there were any men [...] It was close to [TIME STAMP] and I was about to leave the area when I saw [PLAINCLOTHES COP Z] exiting the woods. He looked interesting. I therefore made my way towards him in a perpendicular fashion so that he could see me. He saw me. Once we had made eye contact, I turned around, retracing my steps telling myself that if he was gay and interested he would come in my direction. Which he did. We were about three meters distance from one another, standing up, without moving, looking at each other during a few minutes. He moved slowly, in a 90 degree arc-like fashion, back and forth, all the while looking at me with interest, but with a certain degree of reservation. This interaction lasted about 5 to 10 minutes. Because I was conscious of the fact that I was older than him, I interpreted his hesitation to approach me as a sign that after having seen me close-up, he was no longer interested in me and did not know how to leave without offending me. So, I decided to walk away from him in order to give him the chance to either part ways with me or to follow me if he was interested. In order to do this, I had to pass in front of him and he took advantage of this moment to speak to me, saying: ‘there [aren’t] many people.’ I answered in the affirmative, all the while making my way away from him and from the place where we found ourselves [...] In this way, I began a walk of almost one hundred meters south-west into the woods [...] to be certain that he was interested in me, and to, in this way, avoid any misunderstandings. At first, area was a known area for homosexual encounters and he responded in the affirmative. I asked him how he came about this knowledge. He responded by telling me that he had found this information online at gay411.com [...] There was a malaise between me his ass. I found his behaviour strange because I had only suggested that we embrace. In the context of gay cruising, though, there are ‘bottoms’ who are submissive, passive, and behave in this manner. I took one or two steps in his direction and put my right I thought that he had gone, because I no longer saw him, so I slowed my pace and finally, after a delay of about two minutes, I could see him starting to follow me. While walking, I looked behind myself many times to see if he was following me, which he was. [...] I stopped to drink some water and to let him catch up with me. Indeed, he caught up with me and we started a friendly conversation that lasted a couple minutes. We were a few feet from one another. [...] I asked him if he was aware of the fact that this us because neither one of us was making any moves and we were just standing there, waiting. Therefore, after a few minutes of conversation and of indecision, I asked him ‘what do we do now’ in order to determine what his expectations were. He answered by saying that he was‘ uncomfortable and didn’t know what to do in such circumstances’. I then told him that we could at least embrace one another. Strangely, he turned his back to me while continuing to face me, as if he was offering hand on his back, bringing him against me, gently, but firmly, all the while saying ‘no, come here’. We embraced one another, as one gives a hug [...] To show him that I took the interest that he had previously manifested seriously, I dared a more intimate caress, sliding my right hand down his body towards his sex— over his pants [...] But as soon as he felt the contact of my hand getting close to his genitals, he pushed me back and told me that I was under arrest for sexual assault, showing me his police badge on which I saw the name [COP’S NAME].” Accusations under article 4.08a of municipal bylaw no. 81-1923 (City of Longueuil) Unsurprisingly, the Canadian Criminal Code is not the only body of law currently being used to legitimize the mistreatment of men who have sex with men by state agents. Municipal codes and park regulations prohibiting “indecent” or “obscene” conduct, play an important role in this legitimation. The following testimony comes from a man who was ticketed by a plainclothes cop for having violated article 4.08a of municipal bylaw no. 81-1923 — a municipal bylaw that prohibits the performance of “obscene” or “indecent acts.” “I was cruising in [PARK NAME], in the parking lot close to [AREA NEARBY]. A plainclothes cop was waiting in his car. He tried everything to make me believe that he was gay. The tango lasted close to 30 or 40 minutes. Seeing as I wasn’t doing anything, he began to wander around my car, smiling at me. I was rubbing my inner thigh, never my genitals. Seeing that I was still not doing anything reprehensible (I was very much on my guards), he then approached the driver side door that I had left open (it was hot and this would allow me to more easily enter into contact with him if things took a turn in that direction) and pointed his crotch in my direction. I took this as an invitation to touch him. I touched his inner thigh just above his knee and he immediately took out his badge, telling me that I was guilty of committing an act of gross indecency” [my emphasis]. Though “gross indecency” — section 157 of the Canadian Criminal Code criminal — was repealed in 1988, Longueuil police continue to use this term to designate the charges they lay against gay men in parks. This systematic misnaming is no error. Municipal regulations, like the article 4.08a, serve the same repressive function that section 157 did before it was repealed: that of punishing the existence and expression of nonheterosexual desires. Longueuil police are not the only ones engaged in this systematic misnaming of charges. Last month, in an article entitled Parc Lafontaine: un «oeil magique» dans une salle de toilettes publique, the term was tellingly, but irresponsibly, tossed around both by Philippe Teisceira-Lessard, the La Presse journalist writing the piece and by Anik de Repentigny, communications director for the City of Montreal. �features Accusations under article 5.03 of municipal bylaw no. 81-1923 (City of Longueuil) In 2016, Longueuil police convinced city council to pass a law making it illegal to walk on unmarked trails in four Longueuil parks, at least two of which are established gay cruising grounds. Their idea was simple. Cruising requires that men who have sex with men be able to access the less visible wooded areas of parks. Accessing these areas requires men who have sex with men to make use of unmarked trails. Cut off access to these trails and the cruising will stop. The following “statement of offence” which details the events leading up the ticketing of a gay man in August of 2017 on Île Charron does a strikingly good job at highlighting the homophobic impetus behind this law. “Where I was: Undercover operation in plainclothes on l’Île Charron, a location reputed for sexual exchanges between men in the unmarked trails. What I saw: I find myself at the end of the parking lot, in the hairpin bend. The defendant looks at me, I look at him. He therefore parks his car immediately in the parking lot right beside. I then make my way through the green space nearby, he exits his vehicle and follows me, I enter an uncleared wooded area where the vegetation is dense. The city does not maintain this area, in order to gain access to this area, I have to clear a path with my hands. The defendant follows me into this area and says to me: the paths are not like they used to be. He circulates in the unmarked path for a period of five minutes before returning to his vehicle, intercepted while he was re-entering his vehicle.” As if the first sentence of his statement were not incriminating enough, the plainclothes cop then goes on to make explicit reference to his use of the gaze — a gay cruising practice that has been widely documented by, among so many others, Henning Beck and Mauriz Lenzoff. As the above excerpt makes clear, the current tactics used by undercover cops hoping to lay charges under article 5.03 of bylaw no. 81-1923 are near-identical to those used to by undercover cops hoping to lay charges of “indecency” or “sexual assault.” To listen to previously unreleased audio in which a plainclothes describes his weekly sting, tune into CKUT 90.3 FM tomorrow November 6 at 5pm. The audio will also be available on CKUT’s Soundcloud after the show has aired. November 5, 2018 mcgilldaily.com | The McGill Daily Accusations under other municipal by-laws and other hokey and violent tactics Longueuil police are not the only ones making use of seemingly unrelated municipal bylaws for the purposes of whitewashing their morality campaigns against men who have sex with men. In 2017, the municipal councillor of Saguenay, Marc Pettersen, had plans to pass a bylaw that would make it illegal to park one’s car near Parc de la Colline, a well-known cruising ground. This seemingly benign bylaw will make it possible for SPVS agents to harass men who have sex with men while simultaneously protecting themselves against accusations of sexual profiling. Following the much publicize nudity raids on Chutes SainteMarguerite (commonly referred to as the Gay Falls), the mayor of Saint-Adèle, Robert Milot, publicly announced his plans to limit access to the falls by means of a security checkpoint. To make his intentions less covert, Mr. Milot should equip the checkpoint with a sign that reads: “no faggots; no fucking.” To add insult to injury, at some point during the past decade, Longueuil police started delivering the tickets they issue to men who have sex with men directly to their victims’ home addresses in the hopes of wreaking havoc in the personal and romantic lives of those men who do not openly admit to being attracted to or to having extramarital sex with members of the same sex. Under certain circumstances, cruisers arrested under section 173(1) may be required by prosecutors to both register as a sex offender and provide a DNA sample. All cruisers arrested under section 271(1) are fingerprinted and are required to register as sex offenders and provide DNA samples. “The cop tried everything to make me believe that he was gay.” —Anonymous Imposing limits on freedom of movement is another tactic that police and private security agents use to discipline queer sexual desires out of existence. In R c. Major, a 1998 court case involving a cruiser and a plainclothes cop, Judge THEMENS ordered the cruiser to not find himself in or around Marie-Victorin Park. In the 2010 court case mentioned above, police ordered the cruiser not to find himself in the Parc de l’Île Melville between the time of his arrest and the time of his first court hearing. Again, in the 2017 court case mentioned above, mall security ordered the cruiser not to find himself in the Eaton Centre for a period of one year. By denying cruisers access to their preferred cruising grounds, security, police, and judges effectively deny cruisers the right to benefit from the presence and support of their fellow community members. Orders like these isolate individual cruisers from potential support networks, thus making it easier for authorities to subordinate them. Homophobic politicians, security personnel, police, and judges will go to extreme lengths to both enhance their ability to subordinate men who have sex with men and to mask the homophobic motivations behind their raids. The list of tactics above, therefore, is not comprehensive. Many are the undocumented and invisible means by which police purge public spaces of queer bodies and sexualities. COMPLACENCE AND COMPLICITY Accusations made against cruisers using articles 173(1) and 271(1) of the Canadian Criminal Code and under petty municipal bylaws involve a number of false representations, purposeful miscontruals, and homophobic rationalizations. Plainclothes cops make their way to gay cruising grounds with the intent of being touched and of having us show them our packages. They want to have their bodies caressed. To construe consensual sexual encounters like these as “indecent” or “assault” is nothing short of perverse. Despite this perversity, some of the most “important”“community” organizations in the province of Quebec—those whose voices the state is most likely to recognize—refuse to speak out against homophobic state initiatives. Community Organizations Cruisers are not the only ones who have been subject to repression within the context of anti-‘indecency’ operations. A couple of years ago, two of REZO’s outreach personnel were forced out of Maisonneuve park by cops while distributing condoms in a wooded area know to attract cruisers. Despite this, REZO has refused to share information about the raids with the community. More than just refusing to warn the community, REZO Communications Director Alexandre Blais immediately sought to depoliticize the incident by blaming it on a few ‘bad’ cops — this, immediately after having been presented with police documents revealing the existence of multiple state projects designed to purge parks of men who have sex with men. The response of the Conseil des Gais et des Lesbiennes du Québec is even more alarming. In 2011, the then head of the Conseil, Steve Foster, met with the head of PDQ 38, Stéphane Bélanger, to discuss the «problématique» of cruising in Parc Lafontaine. M. Bélanger arranged this meeting for the purposes of asking for the Conseil’s «collaboration en matière d’information à transmettre à la communauté gai». If the Conseil had taken on this task, PDQ 38 would have both absolved itself of the unsavoury (politically unwise?) task of ordering faggots not to fuck in the park and successfully pinkwashed its morality raids. This is not what happened. Rather than legitimizing the raids by accepting an underhanded request to act as the mouthpiece of homophobic brutes, Mr. Foster seems to have provided Mr. Bélanger with implicit support he wanted by failing to speak out loudly enough against this initiative. The current head of the Conseil Marie-Pier Boisvert has simply chosen to ignore our emails. Though seriously disappointing, the Conseil’s response — or lack thereof — is not nearly as troublesome as the response of MIELS-Québec, an organization that provides support services to people living with HIV-AIDS in the Quebec City region. In 2009, this “community” organization partnered with the Service de Police de la Ville de Québec for a two day operation called Opération RendezVous. During this operation, MIELS’ outreach worker, Philippe De Carufel, would “bait” cruisers, provide them with condoms and lube, and then suggest that they take their sexual activities elsewhere. Once De Carufel had identified a cruiser, police would arrive on scene and “inform” the cruiser of potential fines and criminal proceedings. During this two day operation, MIELS, using entrapment-like tactics, actively sought to make visible, and thus, policeable, the sexual population whose well-being it purportedly cares most about — a sexual population that was already vulnerable to illegitimate state intervention prior to this revolting collaboration. “Our association with police is interesting, because it will allow us to inform the men that there will be repression.” De Carufel’s statement to the press is chillingly similar to the instructions given to officers conducting arrests of men who have sex with men on the island of Montreal a few years later. Arresting officers performing “anti-indecency” operations in Angrignon Park back in 2011 were told to “inform offenders of the repression to come.” Rather than engaging in the kinds of solidarity work that would have contributed to the well-being of men who have sex with men, during this two-day operation, MIELS chose to exploit the relationship of trust it had previously built with men who have 11 sex with men in order to engage in precisely the kinds of threatening talk that police would soon identify as being key to purging parks of men who have sex with men — talk that can only be described as moralizing and disciplinary. For its part, Interligne (formerly Gai-écoute), has simply chosen not to respond to any of our emails. Depoliticized, these community organizations are of little help to those of us who inhabit the margins of the queer community, where non-compliance with heterosexist sexual norms continues to act as justification for police violence. CLOSING REMARKS Testimonies of men arrested or ticketed during stings reveal that cops actively court their victims by smiling at them, courting them while sporting full-on erections, staring at them for extended periods of time ranging from 20 to 50 minutes, and by approaching their victims and offering to engage in touching of a sexual nature by means of suggestive body language. The truth is that plainclothes cops play an active role in seducing their victims. The truth is that those of us who fail to conform to heterosexist sexual norms are continually made targets of illegitimate state intervention. The truth is that the morality raids never ended. Most of the names and badge numbers of the cops or security agents performing the abovementioned operations have been omitted to protect the identities of the men concerned. It is important to recognize the violence implicit in this silencing. In order to protect the identities of the men whose testimonies we have shared, certain source documents have not been made public. To see notes and references, visit https://www.mcgilldaily.com. com/2018/11/this-is-no-longer-a-safeplace/ For a more detailed discussion of police documents off of which this piece is based, consider attending Cruise Control’s upcoming participatory talk (in French) Violence, sexualité, et surveillance, which will be held on November 6 at 12:30 within the context of UQAM’s Semaine Contre la Surveillance. For more information about the raids or to stay in touch, follow @ cruisecontrolmtl on Facebook. Tune into CKUT on November 7th at 6pm to hear Audio Smut’s coverage of the Mont-Royal cruising scene in the 70s and 80s. VISUALS BY NELLY WAT � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 108 Issue 9 Page Number(s) 8-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource “This is no longer a safe place" Description An account of the resource A feature on homophobic policing in Quebec. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource ACAB Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018/11/05 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF homophobia LGBTQ non-McGill police queer https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/d588d468123297db4b36965f76d91351.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=DITvReLXLSe3wEKK2cH%7E3GJoYTg3IwFL%7ETZWw2Q1oowMXcXjTYw8PVHgDI3539w1rlLKaPwuNvxIoZkPKmocF8%7EKig4-Ssd2oBoK%7EXIq2fi8rEfuHEgPkg4dzOeDJPls076hRLY6DRWwG2wnS5ErGSdUbEh0WjiFK99vhygxfQCF%7Eyf%7E1I8P4bXB6oqKo3AppGppBJ1Ip4e4dSIJrC2rzAJODf11LFiUo5-8xgBICwulSuIeKHa1jqKQIz6UJGOoxv8hYHeZHT3f1jHuPR-4UWGLU5Of9v6uzJqSR9-89qh9q15xXMMYwMy-w8VgsU9BgJ-1yKv12HQ1UKOW8%7EhOCA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 04c7b097674fc2bfdf2d90c5eb61d238 PDF Text Text The McGill Daily I Monday, March 11, 1996 Women's Hc;olth SHREDDING CONFIDENTIALITY I The Supreme Court allows sexual _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ by;__H _ea_therSokoloff aSS8U/t reCOrdS intO COU(t What does it mean to be healthy'! It's not just about a lack of sickness, but a general state of physical and mental well-being. With this definition, it is not hard to see rape as a health issue. Rape is an act of violence and hatred. It is an infringement of a woman's physical well-being, and the threat of rape an infringement ofhcr mental well-being. lM since trite and fabricated con· ceptions of rape continue to cloud its brutal and degrading realities, it comes as no surprise that Canada's judicial system is confused about who to blame. In the past decade of legal discourse, there have been constant debates regarding whose rights should be protected: the victim's or the accused. llritish Columbia began shredding files containing notes taken during interviews with clients involved in sexual assault cases. In fact, this process offile shredding had been'going on all year as many crisis centres had predicted such a decision. Diane Lemieux, head of Quebec's Sexual.Assault Centres, said her group concluded a year ago that it should prepare for a ruling letting defendants use counselling records in court. The organisation told its members to keep any potentially damaging revelations out of their notes. "We consulted experts and did some prevention," said Lemieux. With the recent ruling, statements commonly made in therapy like "I don't know if it was re. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , ally rape" or "J'rn not "/t's just a way for defense sure what happened," lawyers to say to women, may be used by the defendant's lawyer to try 'we know you must be crazy to invalidate the vic· tim's claims. because you saw a psychJaJlut suchstaternents trist, "' often stem from a reluctance to -A/ex Johnston, McGi/1 woman's label their experience law student as rape. Psychiatry professor llenjamin Saunders Should the accused right to defend is the co· author of a recent US governhimself be protected at all costs, even ment study estimating the uumher of if this means jeopardising the victim's rapes or attempted rapes in the US each right to privacy? year to be 310 000. According to him, "It's well known Now, a recent decision by the Supreme Court ofCanada has pushed this among researchers that if the quesdebate back to the forefront, and again tioner uses the word 'rape' instead of raised the question of how the courts just physically describing forced sexual should deal with rape. intercourse, the number of positive responses goes down by about 50 RECORDS NOW PERMISSIBLE per cent." On December 14, 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that attorneys WHO PAYS THE PRICE? can use confidential medical and courl- The Supreme Court's December ruling selling records to defend their clients . has left advocates for the rights of rape That means that defendants, in- survivors reeling. cluding accused rapists, need only They forecast a return to an earlier show that such private records could era, where women failed to report be 'relevant' to their case for a judge to sexual assaults because the legal conorder them to be produced. sequences were so traumatising. "For the accused to gain access to Alexjohnston, a McGilllaw student who has done graduate work in wom- all of that emotion-based information en's studies, sees the decision as a piece is another rape in itself," said Diane by piece dismantling ofthe Rape Shield Oleshiw, a lawyer for a Toronto rape Law. Passed in 1983, the law restricts crisis centre. She predicted that rape victims may the questioning of a rape victim's sexual history as part of the defense feel they have to choose between pressing charges and seeking counselling to strategy. Though the Supreme Court struck deal with post-rape trauma. Oleshiw's reaction is echoed by down the Rape Shield Law in 1991saying it infringed on the rights of the other workers in sexual assault centres, accused - civil rights lobbying man- who fear the Court's decision will delegitimise the woman's experience of aged to bring it back in 1992. But now the victim's right to privacy rape, to 'protect' the rights of the defendant. may be eradicated completely. "Its a sad decision," said Anne Marie Aitkins, a spokeswoman for the Ontario CRISIS CENTRES TREAD CARE· Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, in an FULLY interview with the Globe and Mail. "I Perhaps the most important tion of this ruling is its impact on sexual don't believe that anyone really wants to assault centres and the records they see these records - they just want to disempower women and separate them keep. Immediately after the ruling was from their support services." Sandra Gau, of Auberge Transition, announced, centres in Ontario and a Montreal shelter for female victims of abuse, believes that the treatment of women by the police is deterrent enough for women who are considering pressing charges. "Once again, we arc blaming the woman. Her past medical history has nothing to do with the man. The responsibility of the rape has to be the man. This is legislation that reinforces the fact that we are living in a patriarchal society," she said. MIXED REACTIONS absolute discretion in their interpretation of when and where records can be accessed, a fact which renders the im- and Mail that counselling records can be a crucial aid in proving that a fragmented account by a vulnerable com- With the recent ruling, statements commonly made in therapy like "I don't know if it was really rape" or "I'm not sure what happened, " may be used by the defendant's lawyer to try to invalidate the victim's claims. Students at McGill who work in the area of sexual assault support services were similarly worried by the Court's plementation of the legislation subject December ruling. to the whims and personalities ofindiReferring to the implication of the vidual trial judges. ruling, Dierdre Harrington, external "I have a lot of trouble with the idea co-ordinator of the Sexual Assault Cen- of having judges screen cases. Most tre of the McGill Students' Society judges who are white, middle age men (SACOMSS), said "it's ascary decision, may not be able to empathise with the as anything can be subpoenaed." women's situation." Harrington stated that SACOMSS Montreal criminal lawyer Suzanne will not be affected by this decision Costom agreed with Johnston's consince the centre offers a confidential cern, stating that, "The major flaw of telephone help-line system. Counsel- the judicial system is that judges arc lors do not take names or keep records. human." Nonetheless,Johnston said the rulBut unlike Johnston, Costom suping undermines our understanding of ports the Court's ruling and says she the notion of doctor-patient confiden- thinks it is restrictive enough to pretiality. vent abuses to the victim while protectShe says the law also reveals that a ing the rights of the accused. double standard towards women is still "If the accused wants access to the present in the courts today. If someone records, the defense has to be pointing claimed to have been robbed or as- to something specific that they arc plainant had been bolstered by overzealous counsellors. Costorn agrees that the decision is a good one because it is based on the premise that "it is better to acquit guilty people than convict innocent ones." But the reasons offered by Gold and Costom in dcfense of the Court's ruling suggest that some women are making their accounts of sexual abuse up, in what some call False Memory Syndrome. Those who argue that FMS exists say that sometimes therapists induce memories of sexual assault in their patients- a claim that people working with sexual assault survivors. and survivors themselv.es. reject. · According to Megan Ellis, a Vancouver lawyer who represents many After the Supreme Court :5 decision, women in court saulted in the street, she says, their cred- looking for. The Supreme Court does sexual abuse survivors, "False Memory ibility would never be questioned by as- not allow for a general fishing expedi- Syndrome is a public relations coup for people who want yet another so-called tion into these files," she says. sessing their psychiatric medical files. According to the process proposed scientific theory to buttress the age-old "It's just a way for defense lawyers to say to women, 'we know you must by Court, trial judges are to examine argument that women who say they be crazy because you saw a psychia- the counselling records in question to have been raped or sexually abused are see whether they pass the hurdle of not credible." trist,'" she says. As such, while some argue that priLike other critics of the ruling, probable relevance. The trial judge must then weigh vate records may be necessary in some Johnston also points out that the legislation is structured in such a way that how valuable the records arc to the cases, many agree that the recent Suit can only be enforced on a case by case · defense, against the victim's right to preme Court decision points an accusatory finger at survivors of sexual asprivacy. basis. Lawyer Alan Gold told the Globe sault and rape. This means that judges are given � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 85 Issue 61 Page Number(s) 11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shedding Confidentiality Description An account of the resource After the Supreme Court of Canada rules that the plaintiff's medical records can be used as evidence during trial, representatives from SACOMSS and other sexual assault centres worry about the privacy of survivors. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Heather Sokoloff Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1996/03/11 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Canadian Government legal system non-McGill Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Students' Society (SACOMSS) https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/62030/archive/files/44c5c74e9bc0932a745ce21b661942d1.pdf?Expires=1785369600&Signature=mLJ0-zef50z56EIwX4lWE8PGyLqZkyF-fXYQH4JIQSqbKqPo-BZMEiyBCGaSApcIlakuKh5gs1H79yagQL8-ZBy9RKb6Px7004qDaULoyubsDBpH6rIqP2todDuKNjgALNDRDAkW-cfRWgh7J3NYtuWDtgKcuGFV773PuC%7ErQeYoTyL7%7E4f4-58XGMqkIIdKrLa5L4YEuy8WiCg7x5btqEDzhgsgHvL2NYqOCkjUOEWdtAuJbXCv4zBcoDu3awApYtvEmnDwj78sI9co0iJ0iApBj4%7EG%7E8vhYtY-je9yKbLtahdW9vrCFIcoDQVx%7EGhZvS8q4ovbvI7w7l5Zkm0IzQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 023feb6f841180bb294e7acaf62d1923 PDF Text Text 4 Monday, October 6, 1997 It's a Rig ht, Not a Pri vile ge by Jesse Finkelstein N lght comes faster In the autumn. With less sum mer sun to keep it at bay, darkness settles over the city earlier each evening. I notice this as I walk towards Pare Lafontaine, where Montreal women are meeting to take part in the 18th annual Take llack the Night March. Moving quickly down the street, I glance instinctively into cars and down alleyways, and wonder if the park will be we11-lit. I keep up a good pace by matching the rhythm of my footsteps to the chant in my head - a manlra I have repeated at previous marches: "Women unite! Take back the night!". I consider that slogan. !think about laking back, reclaiming. !try to imagine a time and space in which the night was presumed to be ours. This night does not belong to me. I feel vulnerable walking alone through the nearly deserted park, and find myself clenching the house keys in my pocket. I hurry past a man leering at me from his perch on a bench, willing myself invisible. I am relieved to sec a small group of women gathering around the meeting-place at The.tLrc de la Verdure. Nathalic Lcvcille, co-ordinator of the Con cordia Women's Centre and a n.arch organizer appears anxious: it is seven-thirty, our planned departure time, and few women have arrived. "Our meeting place is poorly-lit," she says. "I'm worried that may make it difficult to find , or that it may have discouraged some women from coming. We should have thought of this before." Women usually take such consicle;·ations for granted, and Lend to avoid dark, quiet places at night. Perhaps organizers overlooked this point because of the nature of the march: each year at Take llack the Night, women's safety is assured. Finding refuge in numbers, we Lake on city streets confidently, boisterously. without fear. For a few hours we revel in this freedom ami, chal'ting, whistling, and en shouting, demand that safety be respected as a right instead of a privilege. u. ABSOLUTE RIGHT 4 0 "Women's right to be free from violence is an absolute right which cannot be mitigated by empirically discovered social causes," contends Radhika Coomaraswamy in Some Reflections on Violence Against Women . One poster publicizing the march displays the horrific results of violence against women by listing the names of hundreds of women killed by men in Quebec since December 6, 1989. Yet violence comes in many shapes and sizes that can harm Take Back the Night, 1997 women in di(ferent ways. Although most people associate violence with brute physical force used against another person, johnson and Sacco write in Re- "it's a power thing." Violence has many facets, it seems, and affects women in ways we may not anticipate. This is what Karen Hurland suggests as she rallies the growing crowd of women in Pare Lafontaine. Co-ordinator of Stella, an organization promoting the rights of sex workers, Hurland insists that "women are affected unilaterally by violence and all SAVOURING SOLIDARITY my friend Emily tells me about her unique form of self-defense. "Act Women shouid be angry. And like a lunatic," she explains, "and we are. But not all of the partici- no one will bother you." She pants of the march felt that vio· claims she walked all the way searching violence against women lence against women should be down Ste. Catherine Street late one that, "for J.llOSt women, subtle addressed in such aggressive Saturday night shaking her body threats of male violence, unpreterms. Responding to march slo- and emitting strange noises and : dictable situations that potentia11y gans like "no more patriarchy, no she was left alone. We laugh about could turn violent, are more commore shit," two McGill students say this although we both know she is monplace. For some women, dethey feel that the march is too an- serious. Women are resourceful. pending on their work or living gry, too aggressive towards men. V'/e can be experts in the art of environment, they ing safe. As Emily exist almost on a and I trade tactics a daily basis. The fear woman approaches and the harm these us to ask for money. "Women are actions cause qften She needs a few dolgo unnoticed." affected unilaterlars for transportaNathalie Lcveille tion to and from ally by violence has told me about work until she resome ways in which and all women ceives her next violence affects her paychcck at the end have a right to as a disabled of the month. She woman. "Some of safety." knows of our march, the most common she says, and would -Karen Hurland forms of violence," have come if she had she tells me, "arc some leisure time. those subtle ways in She gives us some which people assert themselves women words of advice as over me and invade my privacy have a right we riOe through our and personal space." She gives me to safety. It pockets and tells us the example of the psychological is a popular her name is Maric. abuse she suffers at the hands of misconcepMarie stands adapted-transport taxi drivers tion that apart from most of who bring her to and from work women are the march particieach day. "Some of these men ask either pants, who are nmv me intimate questions and talk at 'good' or 'bad,' and that only 'bad' "We aren't going to get an)'\vhere," 111ing into the bar. On the whole me incessantly throughout the women are susceptible to violence. one explains, "if we can't commu- we arc young, many of us students, ride. They do this because they llut if we are to combat violence, nicate with men in a positive way. most of us white and middle class. can," she says, "because they feel we must do it together. We can- This issue must be addressed by !later come across a li:;t of women they are owed some sort of thanks not look at the situation in these women and men together." But who, according to the 1993 UN for the service they are paid to terms." many women feel that anger is not Declaration on the Elimination of provide." Nathalie says she knows Indeed, these familiar catego- the dominant feeling at the march. Violence Against Women, are parrizations break Kat Lcblond, a Montreal artist who ticularly vulnerable to violence: down in the face of has participated in several these include minority women, infacts. According to marches, says "we are happily sa- digenous groups, refugee women, the Violence vouring our solidarity. We are ex- migrant women, women living in Against Women cited to be women, to be out in the mral or remote communities, desSurvey conducted street at night, and to be safe." titute women, women in detention, in Canada in 1993, Reactions to the march are as female children, women with dis"51 per-cent of Ca- many and as varied as the 200-odd abilities, elderly women, and nadian women women there. Some women are ju- women in situations of armed con[over five million] bilant, others cautious. Some chant 11ict, most of whom do not have the have experienced at loudly, others remain silent. As a luxury or ability to attend an event least one incident of security marshall supervising the like Take Back the Night. Violence physical or sexual group from its periphery, I pay does not discriminate, but some of assault since the age close attention to what is happen- its victims are less able than othof 16." 87 per-cent ing both in and around the march. ers to "challenge and fight against have been sexually Oncoming cars pass by quickly as it," as Coomaraswamy suggests. harassed. Four in 10 we occupy one half of a street. On!leave the bar a few hours later, women have been lookers alternately chastise and humming the music I have heard victims of sexual as- cheer us on. A lone drummer out- and remembering some snatches sault. Instances of side Mont-Royal metro station fol- of poetry artists have performed. psychological vio- lows our rhythm. On St. Denis I feel "empowered." Walking Street marshalls have home, I consider giving over to a to discourage a pack of bout of Emily's lunacy, but decide "Women's right to young teenage boys instead to employ my usual from joining in. The method of self-defense. Clutching .be free from viomarch is for women the keys in my pocket, !lunge aglence is an absolute and children only, we gressively down the street, hoping explain. Men's support to emit touch-me-and-die signals. right." is welcome at th!! cel- Tonight this must be working because I reach my apartment withebration afterwards. of other disabled women who feel lence inflicted on women are too out incident. I am relieved to have the same way, and who agree that subtle to pinpoint and too many once again made it home safely. I ALTERNATIVE this subtle and very specific form to count. Regardless of a woman's think about all the women who DEFENSE of abuse is difficult to convey to age, class, colour, mobility, sexual will not. I think about taking back, those who do not have to endure persuasion or occupation, violence Outside Au Quai des Brumes, reclaiming. I try to imagine a time it. "Ultimately," she concludes, does not discriminate. where the cabaret is taking place, and space in which the night was presumed to be ours. 71Je McGi/1 Daily � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Coverage from The McGill Daily Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Volume 87 Issue 5 Page Number(s) 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource It's a Right, Not a Privilege: Take Back the Night, 1997 Description An account of the resource Coverage of the 1997 Take Back the Night Protest Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jesse Finkelstein Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The McGill Daily Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997/10/01 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF non-McGill sexual violence Take Back the Night