On Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, Premier Kathleen Wynne released the newest ad in the Ontario government’s campaign to stop sexual violence and harassment. The latest installment is a short video showing common instances where sexual abuse and violence occurs. Each of these short scenes depict situations that often go unlabeled as sexual assault.
According to the Ontario government, the advertisement is in response to studies that have shown that people are unsure of what sexual violence looks like.
CTV News reported that this advertisement is the second installment of Wynne’s anti-sexual violence campaign, which was first launched in March 2015. The new advertisement premiered at the Summit on Sexual Violence and Harassment in Toronto.
Some of the scenes in the advertisement include incidents of harassment occurring on a crowded bus, in the workplace, or at the end of a date.
Each scene offers dialogue aimed at identifying instances of sexual violence and harassment.
Information from Statistics Canada suggests that one in three Canadian women will experience sexual violence or harassment in their lifetime. Additonally, eight per cent of all reported sexual assault victims are men. The issue affects an annual estimated of 293,000 individuals worldwide. CBC News quoted Sly Castaldi, executive director of Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, saying that the advertisement is encouraging conversation on the topic in a “way that’s not been done before.”
The first installment of the campaign proved to be rather influential, gaining more than 2.5 million views on YouTube. According to the government, the advertisement was received by 85 million people worldwide. The campaign has reached such a large audience through the use of the hashtag #ItsNeverOkay.
Global News reported that Premier Wynne stated that the majority of individuals who fail to identify these acts as sexual harassment are predominantly young men. The problem lies in the “grey areas” where it is unclear if the action constitutes as sexual violence or harassment.
CBC News reported that the campaign cost to be in the vicinity of $8 million.
Research conducted by the Government of Ontario found that only 37 per cent of people in Ontario believed that they had an obligation to intervene in sexual harassment, before watching the first advertisement. This number rose to 58 per cent when the survey was conducted again in September 2015.
“While this research shows progress, there is much work still to be done,” said Tracy MacCharles, the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues, in a Nov. 19, 2015 news release. “We all have a role to play in stopping sexual violence and harassment.”