Girls face alarming rates of violence

“Two recent studies carried out in Ontario schools, one conducted by Toronto’s School Community Safety Advisory Panel and the other by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), found that sexual harassment and sexual assault of girls are occurring at alarming rates. The Panel stressed that the problem requires immediate attention.”

Why is this happening?

This fact sheet, produced by the Free Radical, explains that these alarming rates of harrasment and sexual assault of girls is largely related to the rampant misogyny that exists in today’s popular culture.

While the public incitement of hatred is illegal under the Criminal Code because it’s acknowledged to be a contributing factor in the promotion of violence and discrimination against the target group, “gender” is not included in the list of protected identifiable groups.

As a result women and girls have no protection from hate propaganda. The federal government refuses to amend the law to include gender, although in 2003 it passed a Private Member’s Bill (Bill C-250) adding “sexual orientation”. While this Bill was going through public hearings and review, neither politicians in the House of Commons nor members of the Senate amended the law to include women.

Private Member’s Bill C-254

In May 2005, Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj tried to correct the situation
by introducing Private Member’s Bill C-254 which would amend Section 318(4) of the Criminal Code to read, “In this section, ‘identifiable group’ means any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, sex or sexual orientation.” He has tried repeatedly since then to get his Bill passed, but without success.

To learn more about this issue, please download the fact sheet:
Fact Sheet

For more information, please visit the Free Radical website at:
www.thefreeradical.ca