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GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
IN THE VANCOUVER ARTS
SCENE, & BEYOND

HASHTAGS AND CALLOUTS HAVE SPARKED A
CONVERSATION, BUT WHERE DO WE GO FROM
ard erg

BY JACEY GIBB, DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  

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In mid-October, a post slowly begins popping up in the
newsfeeds of people involved with the Vancouver music
scene. A woman has compiled a list of abusers—both
her own and of others—and posts it on Facebook,
encouraging people to message her if they have more
names she should add. Attached to the post is an image,
and a list of men with varying numbers of /'s next to
them. “Each /’ represents a report,” the image reads.

The list has seven names on it, ranging from DJs and
promoters to musicians. Within a day, an updated version
of the list appears; some of the men have one "/” beside
their name; others have six or seven. Between the seven
men, there are 22 reports.

Response to the post is swift, and polarizing. The
majority of people vocalize their support and thank the
woman for posting the list; survivors ask for another slash
to be added next to their abuser; people who don't even
know the woman begin re-posting the list in solidarity.

A vocal minority in the comments challenge the woman's

list with the usual deniers’ bingo of responses. In the days
that follow, people also mention how one of the accused has
been missing since the day before the list was posted.

Shortly, an announcement is made on Facebook that the DJ
has passed away; he died a day before the list was released.
Only one media outlet directly says the deceased “killed
himself,” but many commenters quickly jump to their own
conclusions.

“Do you feel good? That you're a murder? Were all those likes
and shares and comments worth your soul little girl?” a friend of
the deceased comments on the post. Someone else messages
the woman to say thanks for killing their friend.

Shortly after the death is reported, the woman's Facebook
account disappears. Days later, it reappears, but without the
callout post.

TH Add

Two weeks after the list appeared on the Internet, |'m sitting

in the Vogue Theatre on Granville Street, where Good Night
Out Vancouver are presenting a workshop on understanding
consent and how to foster a safer nightlife for workers and
patrons alike. An offshoot of the Good Night Out campaign
started in London, the Vancouver chapter have been advocating
for safety and harassment prevention in Vancouver's nightlife
venues—and, understandably, they've been busy.

At the start of the workshop, GNO coordinator Stacey Forrester
clarifies the intention of the evening: We aren't there to

debate if we live in a rape culture. This isn’t something we're
questioning or trying to poke holes in. Forrester presents it as a
fact, and the workshop moves forward without hesitation.

That's because we live in a society where, traditionally, survivors
have been discredited, dismissed, and often silenced.

Data collected by Statistics Canada shows that approximately
one in every three women and one in every six men will
experience some form of gendered violence in their lifetime,
and these are just the incidents survivors are disclosing. Those
numbers also don't take into account other factors, including
your ethnicity, if you're a cis woman or man,
or if you have a disability.

According to

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Statistics
Canada,
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Indigenous
woman living in
Canada, and you're 15
or older, you're almost
three times more likely
to experience gendered
violence than a non-
Indigenous woman.

These statistics also don't
consider that, as a person of
a marginalized population,
you may not be comfortable

reporting incidents to the
police.

We've all heard about the
accusations tearing through
Hollywood, but it’s important
to realize that gendered
violence isn't something
limited to just one industry,
or just one city—it's
everywhere.

Emma Cooper is a
Vancouver-based comedian,
and co-founder of the show,
Rape is Real and Everywhere:
A Comedy Show, where
survivors tell jokes about
their assaults. To Cooper,

the media spotlight on
gendered violence is far from
a revelation.

“| was being interviewed
and someone asked, ‘Are
you surprised by the Harvey
Weinstein thing?’ No! There’s
a convenient, horrible sexual
assault allegation in the news
every time we do the show
and people always say, ‘Oh,
it's timed up with your show!’
and it's like, no, this is just
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The list | mentioned earlier
about Vancouver predators
focused on the music scene,
but the issue of gendered
assault extends far beyond that

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months after a huge
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dismiss survivor expe

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Nobody wants to rea
circles, and analyzing
to admit that maybe
consent, nobody war
they're predators.”

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DJ Catherine Colas t
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read through and acl
survivors in the local

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certain amount of me
get these waves of ci

Social media has gral
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