Individual recordings of eleven of the rally speakers sharing personal stories, providing context, expressing outrage and calling for change, in light of the Jian Ghomeshi verdict.
Photo credit: Andrea Boles.
Approximately 200 people attended the event on March 25, rallying at the Ottawa courthouse and then marching to Parliament Hill.
Recordings below – recorded and produced by Greg Macdougall, EquitableEducation.ca – no reuse or republication without explicit consent.
Unfortunately the audio quality may not the best, in some segments moreso than others.
The descriptions with each recording are as provided by the speakers.
Photo credit: Jenn Jefferys.
Need support?
Some services available around issues of sexual assault and abuse are listed at these sites:
Sexual Assault Support Centre (Ottawa) resource directory
Carleton University campus and community resource directory
Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres directory
Canadian Women’s Health Network listing of national rape crisis centres
Speeches from the Believe Survivors rally in Ottawa
Rose Ekins (recording begins mid-way through speech) – mp3 file
Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, programming coordinator at CUSA (Carleton University Students’ Association) – mp3 file
Jasper Ignatius, independent trans activist and writer. Jasper began by calling out cissexism and transmisogyny (having consulted a friend who experiences transmisogyny beforehand, as they do not) in the language of a previous speaker, and drawing attention to the harms of those actions. Jasper then spoke about their experience in a relationship where they were coerced into sex almost daily (by someone who worked in Carleton Safety) and how they only recently have come to terms with the fact that they experienced rape. Jasper also talked about what consent is, and the conditions in which a “yes” is really a “yes”. Jasper’s articles on Medium.com. – mp3 file
Leah Gazan, Red Sky Woman – mp3 file
Margaux Hunter-Moffatt speaking on behalf of Mélodie Morin (for context see this CBC report). – mp3 file
Event organizers (mp3 file):
Amina Ghadieh is a 21 year-old student at the University of Ottawa, and the head organizer for this event. They are a social justice advocate, an artist, and a writer. Their speech focused on their lived experiences with sexual assault and the frustrations that arise when navigating the Canadian justice system.
Samantha is a charismatic leader, a criminology and communications student and a social justice advocate whose focus is set on dismantling systems of oppression surrounding women of colour. Her main goal is to show solidarity and respect, and give survivors a platform to safely share their experiences. She co-organized this protest and mainly helped with the promo as she has a strong presence on social media.
Jenn Jefferys – mp3 file
Local activist Cameron Jette, 18, spoke about their experience of childhood rape and about the importance of educating our children and youth on consent and sexual violence. – mp3 file
Holly Smith, Purple Sisters Youth Advisory Committee & Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity. – Text of speech – mp3 file
Jenna is the administrative coordinator at the Womyn’s Centre at Carleton University. You can find her online through the Feminist Twins handle on Facebook and Twitter. Jenna is into (un)learning and sharing stories. – Text of speech – mp3 file
BONUS #2:
The same day this post was published, Shameless magazine posted the text of the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape’s #WeBelieveSurvivors speech given at the Black Lives Matter Toronto Tent City (#BLMTOtentcity) in front of Toronto Police Headquarters on the evening of the Ghomeshi verdict, after the Toronto rally had marched there from the original gathering place in front of the courthouse.
Interdependent media & in-person learning opportunities for those who are inspired to be part of movements for social justice.
