Charges an opportunity to better understand nature of sexual violence, activist says
Julie Lalonde of Hollaback Ottawa talks about a survey on street harassment in the city their group has produced. Much of it occurs on OC Transpo buses and at bus stops.
Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington , Ottawa Citizen
The arrest of a suspect in a string of violent sexual assaults is a relief, Julie Lalonde of the organization Hollaback! said Saturday.
But it should be used as an opportunity for a broader discussion about the nature of sexual violence and not create a false sense of security.
Yousef Hussein, 25, appeared in an Ottawa courtroom by video on Friday after being charged with sexually assaulting six women in 2012 and 2013.
The cases kept the city on edge. Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau created a special task force to catch the sexual predator.
Lalonde, who founded the Ottawa chapter of the group that fights street harassment, had earlier criticized Ottawa Coun. Diane Deans when Deans said women must be vigilant at night and walk in pairs if possible.
But Hussein’s arrest, made after a person who lives in the same building called the police, shows that the way to stop a predator is not to tell women to stay home at night, but to broadcast as much information as possible, she said.
“It is important that he was apprehended because somebody trusted their instincts. That shows the importance of bystander intervention.”
She also noted that the suspect in the cases doesn’t fit many peoples’ preconceived notions of a sexual predator – he is good looking, employed and married.
And although the cases terrified many Ottawa women, Lalonde said it is crucial to talk about the fact that cases such as this – in which women are assaulted by a stranger in a public place – are the minority of sexual assaults.
Women are more likely to be assaulted by someone they know, sometimes a family member or a partner or someone they were previously involved with.
The attention focused on cases of this kind can sometimes lead other victims to feel that they are to blame or the assault against them is not that bad. That is why most cases of sexual assault are not reported to police, she said.
“Reinforcing the idea that if you are going to be sexually assaulted it will happen in a public space by someone you have never met is a really dangerous message,” she said.
It is important to talk about it so that people don’t develop narrow definitions of sexual assault, she said.
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Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
The vast majority of men and women respect each other. The "sexual predators" referred to above are an extreme minority. The problem is that extreme feminists tend to improperly portray all men as abusers or potential abusers.
That approach only serves to create acrimony between the genders which appears to be the primary goal of those who spend their lives promoting hatred towards men.
There is however a relatively small group of mainly immigrant males from a narrow list of countries where it is believed that women not wearing ultra conservative clothing are inviting sexual assault.
Most men will go out of their way to protect women and it is improper for those with their own agenda of promoting hatred to take advantage of the small number of creeps who terrorize women.
There are a host of men in Ottawa who would if asked, donate their time and resources to assist complete female strangers.
The sad fact is that public transport and bus stops is in need of more cameras to act as a deterrent. Cameras in cabs for example have proved to be remarkable effective in acting as a deterrent and as a means of gaining evidence for prosecution.
At the same time, we need to get rid of those Corrupt Crown Attorney's like Vikii Biar, Tara Dobec and Vivian Lee who spend too much of their time prosecuting Male Victims of Domestic Violence and spending their efforts STAYING CRIMINAL CHARGES
against Criminals like Marguerite Isobel Lewis aka "The Baby-Snatcher" simply because the accused was a female Criminal.
Ottawa has a host of Criminals who promote Violence Against Men and every one, regardless of Gender, has their own obligation to get rid of those in Power and Authority who spend their lives promoting hatred and violence in the Ontario Government Goals of Gender Superiority.
OttawaMensCentre
The Ottawa Police and "the Gestapo", The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa openly promote Violence against men.
That means Fathers in particular in Ottawa cannot report violence or sexual assault by women.
If they do, cowardly corrupt professional Child Abusers like Rotten Cop
Peter Van Der Zander of the Ottawa Police Fabricate Evidence to NOT charge female perpetrators
and CAS supervisors like Ottawa's GODFATHER, Robert GODman supervise workers who Fabricate evidence to take children away from Male Victims of Female Violence.
Ontario Funds it's Warn on Men with Billions of Dollars spent on a Fascist Program of "Gender Superiority".
ottawamenscentre.com