Progressive Conservative MLAs push legislation to combat sexual violence
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Claudia Chender of the NDP and Kelly Regan, the Liberal minister responsible for the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, spoke after Smith-McCrossin. Both agreed that sexual assault can happen to anyone but said it is much more likely to happen to women, and to younger women.
Chender, the MLA for Dartmouth South, said survivors must be believed.
“Survivors can be any gender but they are more likely to be women or non-binary folks, we need to believe these people, we need to support them but most importantly, it is our opinion that we need to dismantle the systemic barriers that perpetuate the cycles of sexual violence and assault,” Chender said.
“I would acknowledge that statistically, the majority of us in this (House) chamber have experienced sexual assault. That is just absolute fact, it’s incontrovertible and it’s terrible. To my colleagues in this chamber who have not experienced that, think about it for a minute. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of your female colleagues in this chamber have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime, of your female staff, your family, of all the women that you know.”
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