On Wednesday night, four young women—mothers, lawyers, role models, indigenous leaders, survivors, and advocates—spoke out at BYTE ConneX for Sexualized Assault Prevention Month. They touched on topics that affect them as young women and young indigenous women, and asked for change in the way we understand sexualized assault.
Nesta Hager, a proud Northern Tuchone mother and Safe Place Program Coordinator at the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, opened the discussion by talking about her personal experiences growing up between Pelly Crossing and Whitehorse. She says that as early as age 11, she was taught “don’t get raped.†Now, as she raises her own five-year-old daughter, Nesta says she wants the message to be different.
“I want to raise a warrior, not a victim,†she said.
Bhreagh Dabbs is a lawyer with a special interest in sexualized assault cases. Her talk explained the history of consent and the law in Canada. Bhreagh explained that as society’s attitudes change, the law also changes. But, when it comes to sexualized assault and consent, the law can often be slow to follow.
“Although we still have a long way to go, things have gotten better,†said Bhreagh.
Claire Anderson is Taku River Tlingit and a lawyer who practices corporate law and Aboriginal law. She chose to speak about the Cindy Gladue case to showcase some of the current injustices that sexualized assault victims—particularly those who are aboriginal women—experience in court.
Although research shows that aboriginal women are more likely to experience sexualized assault than other Canadian women, Kelly Edzerza-Bapty’s talk illustrated that indigenous women are much more than mere victims.
Kelly is one of the founders of ReMatriate, a campaign born out of reaction to the controversial Dsquaw fashion line. ReMatriate is a social media campaign that showcases empowering images of indigenous women across North America succeeding in western academia, the arts, and the revitalization and maintenance of age-old indigenous cultures (Claire and Angela are also members of ReMatriate). Kelly, who is from the Tahltan Nation, led the audience through images from ReMatriate in order to celebrate the diversity and the accomplishments of indigenous women from around the country.
ReMatriate is asking for photo submissions from indigenous women. Visit them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or email rematriate@gmail.com to submit your photo.
Thank you to our four speakers for offering an enlightening and evocative evening, and to BYTE’s Outreach Coordinator Angela Code for hosting the event.