Introduction – the personal is political
Recently, social media has been abuzz with advertisements and awareness campaigns addressing the urgency for heightened attention towards the prevalence of violence against women – specifically, domestic violence and sexual assault. You may have encountered the “NoMoreCampaign” found at nomore.org that states, “Together we can end domestic violence and sexual assault,” which shows a series of celebrities speaking on behalf of those affected by such violence. The most effective part of the campaign ads are the outtakes that show the raw emotional reactions of the humans behind the script. You may have also seen the Salvation Army Campaign “#The Dress for anti-domestic violence” ad that plays off the recent controversy behind “whether or not the dress is blue and black or gold and white.” There are older campaigns that speak to this, such as #whyIstayed. Celebrity stories, such as those of Rihanna and Chris Brown, Charlize Theron, or of earlier celebrities such as Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, have flooded entertainment and gossip magazines read by youth and adults alike. Even Patrick Stewart has spoken on this topic at comic book conventions, because of his close relationship to violence while growing up. These examples are merely an infinitesimal portion of examples available, and were chosen at random. The reason these topics repeatedly surface in pop culture and social media is because, as we have been told before, violence touches approximately one in four women in Canada, and one in three women in the US – according to those cases reported and documented within the last few years. In fact, according to the Canadian’s Women Foundation, approximately half of all women in Canada have experienced one or more acts of physical and/or sexual violence from the age of 16, and approximately 67 per cent of all Canadians know at least one person who has been a victim of physical or sexual violence. The truth is that the numbers are powerful, and yet only increase as privilege decreases (i.e. increase for people of colour, immigrants, persons with dis/abilities etc.), but are not yet accurately representational because all of the unreported cases – or unacknowledged cases –that get lost in the cracks of bureaucracy and/or the shadows of shame. Bottom line – this is a pandemic. It is unacceptable, and we must do something about it! This is one case in point where the personal is political!
These campaigns obviously serve a purpose of fundamental importance, as we should pay attention to violence in our communities! We should say “No More!” We should put our collective feet down and do something – anything we can – about it. However, the conversation frequently truncates at the end of these declarative statements. Marches through the streets taking back the night are necessary and fantastic, but more needs to be done on a day-to-day basis, on an attitudinal basis, and on an awareness basis! It is important to expand the discussion beyond the instances themselves. We need to ask questions like: what is it like for women who have lived through such violence? What does a life that has been touched and affected by violence look like once the acts of physicality themselves have stopped? What remains of the lives of those affected? How do women cope? What resources are available to them? What is the fallout – how much time does it actually take to get back to a place of stability and normalcy and safety and comfort and happiness? How is survival possible? How is the personal political?
The purpose of this column is not to debate or report on statistics that are clearly beyond the scope of this piece. This column is not meant to exclude persons who have experienced violence and do not identify as female. Nor can this column speak for the broad spectrum of survivors that have such a diverse set of circumstances and stories. However, I can be so bold as to put my story out into the world in the hope that it will be received as an opening for safe and constructive and respectful dialogue on a topic that is both hard to speak about, as well as difficult for people to ask about and witness. My intention is to enact personal agency and use my story as a catalyst for discussion and questions, in order to bring these awkward topics from the theoretical and social media world into a grassroots reality. My story will be presented in several parts over the next few weeks, where I will discuss what it was like to experience sexual assault and domestic violence, the resources that were and were not made available to me as an immigrant and differently-abled person of colour, the experiences of re-victimization, and the ongoing process of transforming from a victim into a survivor. This is merely one story amongst countless others. However, just one story holds power enough to inspire thought.
This is what it is like #beingauroragoryalice.