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Women unite to take back the night

Sudbury-born social activist makes keynote speech

Hundreds of Sudbury women marched on Sept. 29 for the annual Take Back the Night event, an evening dedicated to raising awareness around violence against women.

The evening was highlighted by a march down College Street, as well as a presentation from keynote speaker, social activist and Sudbury-born, Julie Lalonde.

Women and men packed into the Sudbury Secondary School auditorium for Lalonde's presentation about a problem that she feels is far too overlooked.

Lalonde is a Sudbury native who was making her first presentation in her hometown.

"The reason we're all here tonight is because this is an issue in our country," said Lalonde. "People think that this is only a problem in other countries but it's very prevalent here."

Lalonde explained that one in three women in Canada faces sexual violence in their lifetime, while one in six Canadian boys and one in five transgendered people face the same issue.

"One of the biggest issues is that people do not report these incidents to police," said Lalonde. "You can even ask police officers and they'll tell you as little as 10 per cent of people who are victims of sexual violence actually come forward."

Young women under the age of 25 have the highest rate of being sexually harassed, and 80 to 95 per cent of victims are assaulted by someone that they know.

Approximately 460,000 Canadians are victims of sexual assault per year. 

Lalonde displayed some alarming statistics in relation to that number.

"For every 1,000 sexual assaults 33 are reported to police, 29 are recorded as a crime, and only 12 have charges laid," said Lalonde.

Added to those numbers, of the 12 charges that are laid, six are prosecuted, and just three of 1,000 cases lead to a conviction, while 997 assailants walk free.

"This is why we march, this is why I march, because I know what it's like not to be believed," said Lalonde.

"I'm not willing to wait until women are dead before we start paying attention to them."


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