Rohypnol is only the latest drug men use to commit rape. Attention focuses on Rohypnol, but men who rape continue to use alcohol, prescription medication, marijuana, and cocaine. Women are bombarded with warnings to modify their behaviour to keep themselves safe from Rohypnol, yet the number of women calling us to report the use of drugs or alcohol as a factor in the violence done to them remains constant.
C.A.S.A.C. questions the acceptability of a Healing Circle in which Aboriginal women are expected to balance the power of the provincial government, the federal government, the defence bar and the interests of the Catholic Church. We challenge any notion of this as a progressive community process.
It is to be noted that a Healing Circle was not suggested some seven years ago by the First Nations women attacked by Hubert O'Connor. It is suggested only now and by O'Connor's lawyer when the organized force of the Canadian Defence Bar, the Catholic Church, Canadian Parliament and the gender and race biased criminal justice system could not render a full and unequivocal acquittal for O'Connor.
It is an extraordinary thing to try to understand and confront why it is that men believe–and men do believe–that they have the right to rape. Men may not believe it when asked. Everybody raise your hand who believes you have the right to rape. Not too many hands will go up. It’s in life that men believe they have the right to force sex, which they don’t call rape. And it is an extraordinary thing to try to understand that men really believe that they have the right to hit and to hurt. And it is an equally extraordinary thing to try to understand that men really believe that they have the right to buy a woman’s body for the purpose of having sex: that that is a right.
Without feminist analysis, "without collective action shaped by feminist consciousness, without awareness that the women's movement is in fact a force for revolutionary social change (not just a band aid operation), the centres might as well fold their tents and merge with existing social service agencies.
The most important thing to think about is whether you feel like it’s right for you. If you’ve never gotten a rape kit before and want to know what to expect and how to get support, please give us a call 604 872 8212.
The first step is finding a safe place to plan your next steps. If you are in immediate danger, please call 911 and our 24-hour crisis line 604 872 8212.
If you currently live with the man who attacked you and you need a safe place to go, transition houses provide shelter specifically for women immediately escaping violent situations (including sexual violence). A list of transition houses in British Columbia can be found here. If you need help in finding somewhere safe to stay, please give us a call 604 872 8212.
We strongly encourage you to contact us at 604 872 8212 or another local women’s organization that offers information and advocacy around the police. We can talk to you about what to expect and answer any questions you have about the legal process. In most cases we can attend the police statement with you to support you, but if not, we will refer you to another organization that can.
