Sheridan was honoured to welcome Rehtaeh Parsons’ mother, Leah Parsons, to the Trafalgar campus last Thursday as part of a week filled with events taking action against sexual and gender-based violence.
Named ‘For Her We Speak,’ the event was co-hosted by Sheridan, Halton Women’s Place, and Sheridan professor Nicolette Little. The event grew from PhD research Nicolette has undertaken through York University, concerning anti-violence media and advocacy. According to Ms. Parsons, it was the very first time she had been invited to speak at a college. The event took place at the Marquee, with a full audience.
The event began with a few words from MP Pam Damoff, MP for Oakville North – Burlington and Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Status of Women and the Standing Committee on Public Safety. MP Damoff highlighted some of the key recommendations and insights from her work with the Standing Committees. She stressed that we should call cyberbullying what it really is — cyberviolence — and the need for better social media knowledge among law enforcement agencies, since that is where so much gender-based violence is taking place. She also advocated for increased involvement from men and boys in conversations about gender-based violence and cyberviolence.
Leah Parsons took the stage and recounted her daughter Rehtaeh’s story, sharing with the audience her memories of Rehtaeh’s childhood, her career ambitions, and the many traits that made her special. As she told Rehtaeh’s story, she emphasized the need for trauma-informed care at all levels of law enforcement agencies and hospitals, a better understanding of the unique challenge of cyberviolence at an investigative level, and the important role of bystanders in supporting survivors. She also echoed MP Damoff’s call for the need to engage more men in the fight to end gender-based violence and rape culture.
Following Ms. Parsons’ remarks, Maria Lucido-Bezely, Sheridan’s Dean of Students, shared some insights into the work of Sheridan’s task force to address sexual assault and sexual violence and our ongoing Dare to Care campaign, which encourages the community to take action against gender-based violence and take care of one another.
The event concluded with a Q&A session, giving the audience the opportunity to ask questions of MP Pam Damoff, Ms. Parsons, and Dean Lucido-Bezely; as well as Brent Duguid, Public Educator at of Halton’s Womens’ Place; and Sheridan professors Cindy Noble (Practical Nursing) and Sara Cumming (Sociology).
Sheridan’s week of taking action against sexual and gender-based violence included ‘Take Back the Night’ on October 11, and ‘Bringing in the Bystander’ Training on October 12th. A special ‘Sisters in Spirit’ vigil in memory of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls took place earlier this month, on October 4th.