Sexual culture and violence: Offering an opportunity for an inclusive dialogue

OnMonday Nov. 21, Bishop’s University hosted CTV and TSN journalist Rick Westhead for a screening of his documentary Broken: Inside the Toxic Culture of Canadian Gymnastics following a period of discussion involving all students and faculty members present.

During the one and a half hour time slot allotted for this conference, Westhead presented this documentary and talked about his career as a journalist. This documentary, released in 2022, dives into the Brubaker and Gymnastics Canada scandal in which former gymnasts Abby Spadafora and Mel Hunt talk about their experience training competitively under Bluewater Gymnastics’ head coach Dave Brubaker. In 2019, Spadafora and Hunt, along with 11 other gymnasts, filed a complaint against Brubaker with abuse allegations. This documentary follows these two former athletes as they heal and recover from many years of abuse.

During the time allotted for questions after the screening of Westhead’s documentary, the TSN journalist had a chance to talk about his most recent work reporting about abuse in sports including Hockey Canada’s abuse scandal, amongst others. Rick Westhead was asked about reporting on the delicate topic of abuse in and outside of sport and on ways to improve on current systems and organizations in which victims fear seeking help. Westhead said that the best way to enforce change is to “challenge organizations, to be active, to know what the policies are.” This message is important for many students who fight to enforce change at Bishop’s in light of noteworthy events from the past years.

On Nov. 3, 2021, as the independent review of Bishop’s University’s Practices and Policies related to Sexualized Violence states, an anonymous message was left on the bridge connecting the Bishop’s University campus with the community of Lennoxville. This message said: “He raped me, I reported, he’s still in my class, BU take action.”

This message caused a wave of reaction through the small Bishop’s community which influenced the university to take prompt actions such as organizing town hall meetings to discuss the issue and to find solutions and the establishment of an Ad-Hoc Committee on the Prevention of Sexual Violence in Nov. 2021.

The Sexual Culture Committee (SCC) works to open the dialogue on abuse and sexual violence, to educate all students and faculty members, to destigmatize the topic of sexual culture, to facilitate the reporting of sexual assault, and to make sure every individual feels safe and comfortable on campus and in the Bishop’s community. Ever since its foundation, the committee has organized a series of forums, meetings, and marches to take action and be heard by all. During their Take Back The Night forum that took place on Oct. 19, 2022, co-founder of the committee Anika Malone said: “Let’s empower more people to scream and raise their voices!” The SCC’s main goal is to enforce change and to make sure the student community is a safe place for all. To achieve this goal, the committee asks all participants to share their opinion on ways to improve reporting techniques to make it easier for victims and for loved ones to report on assault, violence, and abuse.

Since Nov. 3, 2021, the reporting and information gathering at Bishop’s University has also transferred online to offer privacy to all users. To find information regarding sexual violence, mental health, and how to report events that made you feel uncomfortable, consult the Bishop’s website in the “view all resources” section, which includes the Respect Educate Empower Survivors (REES) website, or at the link https://reescommunity.com/campus.