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HomeNewsGiving a VoiceThe Story Behind Saskatchewan’s Newest Coalition Against Workplace Sexual Harassment: Enough Already
Posted on Sep 10, 2020

The Story Behind Saskatchewan’s Newest Coalition Against Workplace Sexual Harassment: Enough Already

We’ve heard this story over and over again.
A survivor speaks out about their experience with sexual assault or abuse and isn’t believed.

They aren’t believed by their family or friends.
They aren’t believed by the community they live in.
They aren’t believed by law enforcement.
They aren’t believed by medical professionals.

There is a long line of disbelief that is often attached to a survivor’s story.

What we’ve learned from our research is that it’s not that survivors’ stories aren’t being told, it’s that when they are told, a blanket of disbelief is thrown over them in efforts to cover up the truth and keep the survivor’s experience hidden, silent, and non-existent.

This blanket of disbelief is made up of barriers. Barriers are people, places, systems, and environments that either indirectly or directly affect the validity of the survivors’ experience.

It takes what is already a traumatizing experience and layers on even more trauma that comes along with the grief, shame, and guilt many survivors carry with them because they are denied the support they need to heal themselves from a sexual assault or abuse incident.

Many of these barriers are deeply rooted in systems and institutions that work against individuals who don’t have access to safe and inclusive spaces that are able to provide them with trauma-informed care.

Eliminating these barriers will take a great deal of change. The kind of change that can only be made by large groups of people and communities coming together to demand that action be taken on what we know isn’t working and hasn’t been working for a very long time.

When we think about ending sexual violence, it feels as though it has become such an overwhelming and at times impossible challenge. Survivors, advocates, and front-line workers are exhausted from carrying the weight of an issue that is often dismissed, ignored, and not believed.

That is why it is so important for us on the sidelines to step in, to help out, and to contribute.

One of the main barriers that survivors experience is a lack of access to free or affordable counselling that is provided by sexual assault centres or multi-service organizations that offer sexual-violence related counselling.

Many of these organizations in Saskatchewan are currently experiencing waitlists that are up to 6 months long due to a lack of funding that would provide the resources needed to keep up with the demand for sexual violence counselling in our province.

The simplest contribution you can make right now is to donate to one of these organizations or volunteer your time to help out with crisis call lines.

Out of all the barriers that exist, one of the most significant is not having a safe space to share stories about sexual assault and abuse with someone that will believe the survivor.

By giving back to the organizations that provide safe spaces for survivors, we can all do our part in changing the story about sexual violence and help raise the voices of survivors who have been denied the truth.

Here’s a list of organizations to donate to or volunteer for across Saskatchewan:

For more information about the barriers that exist for survivors, read our research here: https://sassk.ca/

SASS is a registered non-profit, member-driven organization dedicated to eliminating sexual violence in Saskatchewan through research, public education, and advocacy.

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