Williams Lake’s Committee for Action Against Sexual Violence is hosting its second annual Breaking the Silence on Sexual Violence conference on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at the Pioneer Complex.
Guest speakers for the event include Doctor Shelly Bonnah, PHD and Gail Edinger, a longtime women’s advocate and feminist.
Both will be speaking about the importance of women’s safety and the role their communities play in supporting them.
Bonnah is a family therapist, clinical supervisor and organizational consultant based out of Kamloops, specializing in working with men, women and children who have experienced violence. She has an interest in studying and helping victims of institutionalized violence specifically.
Edinger has over 30 years experience in B.C. working as a feminist across sectors to improve safety, equality and access to justice for women and their children.
READ MORE: Breaking the Silence on Sexual Violence conference Oct. 13
She has consulted extensively with systems and community groups around the province in efforts to support institutional and local improvements in policies and practices affecting women’s safety.
After many years with the Ending Violence Association of BC she recently retired. Now she is a jewelry designer and a passionate advocate for women’s safety in her spare time.
Committee member Bel Hume said the first conference was born out of the idea of encouraging people to join the committee and become part of an effort to provide education, resources and information.
“Last year the conference went well for our first one. We didn’t know what to expect,” Hume said. “At the end of the conference, we had sheets of paper around the room for people to provide feedback which has helped us develop this conference.”
In the future, the committee plans to begin working more with First Nations communities.
Committee member Eva Navrot said they’ve developed a power-point presentation they want to share and they hope to offer first response training for sexual assault in the future.
“Specifically we would volunteer and help in the hospital and hopefully do outreach to the communities so they could also take part in the training in Williams Lake.”
Navrot said it is a big step to attend the conference for some people.
“The conference is safe and confidential and is open to everyone wanting to make ours a safer community.”
According to a pie graph created by YWCA Canada in 2012, there are 460,000 sexual assaults in Canada every year.
Out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 33 are reported to police, 29 are recorded as a crime, 12 resulted in charges being laid, six offenders are prosecuted and three of those prosecutions lead to conviction.
Resources available in our community include: Crisis line: 1-800-353-2273, RCMP at 9-1-1, RCMP Victim Services, 250-392-8709, Family and Sexual Violence Victim Services, 250-398-8220 ext. 2005, Women’s Counselling, 250-392-4118 and Provincial Sexual Assault at 1-800-563-0808.
People can register for the upcoming conference by calling 250-392-4118 or e-mail info@womenscontact.org.
There is a $10 admission fee, that includes lunch, and anyone interested is asked to register ahead of time by April 26 so the organizers can determine how much food to order for the luncheon.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the conference will go until about 4 p.m.
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