It was only days into her brief time working for a man who, many years later, would become a Pitt Meadows city councillor.
B次元官网网址淛aneB次元官网网址� was 13 or 14. Her memory, thankfully, is blurry B次元官网网址� but not blurry enough.
It was the fall of 1992. The then-teenager, her identity protected by a publication ban, was working for David Murray, who was in his his late 30s at the time.
One morning, Murray asked her to come into work early. Eager to please her new boss, she did. They were alone.
Sitting in the witness box at MurrayB次元官网网址檚 sexual assault trial in Port Coquitlam this fall, her voice shook and her eyes watered as she described what happened next.
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Murray told her to lie down, and before she could react he was kneeling beside her, moving his hands up her leg, under her shorts, and onto her genitals.
She lay there, frozen.
B次元官网网址淗is hands were fumbling under my shorts and under my pantiesB次元官网网址�.B次元官网网址� she trailed off, before squaring her shoulders and describing her assault in blunt, graphic terms.
| David Murray will officially resign as Pitt Meadows councillor in January. (Submitted) |
B次元官网网址淚t felt like his body was kind of moving. I assumed he was touching himself while he touched me.
B次元官网网址淚t was awkwardB次元官网网址� he seemed nervous.
B次元官网网址淚 turned my head and closed my eyes and waited for it to stop.B次元官网网址�
Crown asked her to recall how she had felt at the time. The judge leaned in to better make out her words.
B次元官网网址淚 was feeling like it was my fault and that I got myself into shitty situations. That I knew the attention he was giving me was inappropriate but I allowed it to continue.B次元官网网址�
JaneB次元官网网址檚 story is horrifying. But it is hardly unique.
While it doesnB次元官网网址檛 always involve the extremes that ultimately led to the conviction of David Murray, workplace-related sexual assault B次元官网网址� and its insidious cousin sexual harassment B次元官网网址� happens to women across the province and around the globe on a scale of which B次元官网网址淢e TooB次元官网网址� has only begun to scratch the surface.
Loosely defined, workplace sexual harassment involves sexually-charged behaviour that either makes someone feel humiliated, or concerned about their job. Sexual assault is similar, but involves physical force or threat.
In a federal government report released this fall, close to one-third of the 1,349 Canadians surveyed said they had experienced sexual harassment at work. Of those, 94 per cent were women.
A more-recent Insights West poll of 451 Canadian working women, released Dec. 6, found 50 per cent experienced a B次元官网网址渟ignificantB次元官网网址� (five per cent), B次元官网网址渕oderateB次元官网网址� (12 per cent) or B次元官网网址渟mallB次元官网网址� (33 per cent) amount of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Meghan Kinnarny is slight, with short, blond hair. As she talks, her shoulders noticeably tighten, although her voice stays soft and her hands gentle on her coffee cup. SheB次元官网网址檚 26, a masters student in UBCB次元官网网址檚 library sciences program.
SheB次元官网网址檚 also a model, with an Instagram feed filled with photos from sweet to erotic.
KinnarnyB次元官网网址檚 experiences modelling have also fallen along a spectrum. Some have been amazing. Others, less so.
B次元官网网址淚 find it that as a model thereB次元官网网址檚 this authority thing with older male photographers,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a group of them that think that just because they have a camera they have the authority to ask for anything they want. I know that there are older male photographers who prey on younger-looking models.
They think theyB次元官网网址檙e naive enough that [the photographers] can get away with what theyB次元官网网址檙e looking for. And itB次元官网网址檚 gross.B次元官网网址�
She has felt harassed by the behaviour of photographers during personal shoots and has heard plenty of similar anecdotes from friends and acquaintances.
She recalls one man who shot out a bunch of emails saying B次元官网网址渙h, I want you to come to this home studio in Surrey and shoot with me.B次元官网网址�
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Kinnarny said the photographer played up the exclusivity of the shoot and the value of it to the girlsB次元官网网址� careers. He also asked them to come alone, or at least without any boyfriends, as not B次元官网网址渞uin the mood.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sitting here thinking B次元官网网址榦h my God.B次元官网网址� HeB次元官网网址檚 doing mass emails so he can cast out this net and get all these young naive models to do whatever.B次元官网网址�
Kinnarny replied by email, blowing him off. She didnB次元官网网址檛, however, warn the other models and felt intensely guilty after two of her friends went for it.
B次元官网网址淎 couple of models decided to shoot with him, one-on-one. He tried to offer them drinks, to get them drunk. He constantly pulled at their clothing.B次元官网网址�
Kinnarny notes the murky lines of whatB次元官网网址檚 OK in modelling make it hard for young girls to say no to men they view as having complete control over their careers.
B次元官网网址淲hat youB次元官网网址檙e seeing is a sense of authority where someoneB次元官网网址檚 bigger and they have more power than you and they think they can do what they want,B次元官网网址� she said.
| As a model, Meghan Kinnarny faces constant sexual harassment. (Katya Slepian/Black Press Media) |
If you believe harassment is solely an issue for the very young like Jane, or those in the entertainment field like Kinnarny and the women involved in the Harvey Weinstein scandal, try to think of a workplace scenario that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been the setting of inappropriate behaviour, or abuse of power.
Take, for example, one our most venerable Canadian institutions.
This May, the RCMP B次元官网网址� while not explicitly acknowledging wrongdoing B次元官网网址� reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit launched by a pair of retired female officers who alleged a climate of gender-based harassment, bullying and discrimination permeated the force for decades. Under the settlement, as many as 20,000 women could be eligible for between $10,000 and $220,000.
For the past six months, a sexual assault trial against Tim Shields, a former high-profile spokesman for the B.C. RCMP, has been underway at provincial court in Vancouver.
There, the complainant, her name protected by a publication ban, described in visceral terms an alleged assault in a police headquarters bathroom.
B次元官网网址淗e went under my blouse, undid my blouse, touched my breasts,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淗e then unbuttoned my pants, [was] trying to unzip my pants. I pushed his hands away said B次元官网网址榥o letB次元官网网址檚 go.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
The former Mountie painted the encounter as consensual, a natural culmination of a flirty relationship egged on by his accuser.
ShieldsB次元官网网址� trial has finished its closing arguments and a verdict is expected by the end of December. None of the accusations have been proven in court.
Prior to the criminal trial, one sexual harassment suit against Shields and the RCMP was settled out of court. The settlement is covered by a confidentiality clause.
The women in the RCMP cases cited above decided to speak out about what happened to them. Many other women donB次元官网网址檛.
A 2014 Angus Reid poll found that while 43 per cent of Canadian women experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, only slightly more than one-fifth of those who felt harassed reported it to their employer.
When asked why, the reasons were plentiful: it was easier to deal with the situation on their own; the issue was too minor to report; they were embarrassed; or they feared not being believed or harming their careers.
This fallB次元官网网址檚 federal government report found that those who experienced sexual harassment had workplaces with a higher ratio of men in positions of power and authority than those who werenB次元官网网址檛 harassed.
High numbers of men in positions of power and a lack of clarity in how to report sexual harassment were highlighted as the top two risk factors.
Having no idea who to report to gave Kinnarny pause. To this day, she still has not reported her harassment.
Berlin Capalad wonders what it is that makes girls too scared to speak up or too scared to say B次元官网网址榥o.B次元官网网址�
| Berlin Capalad hopes to change how sexual assault and harassment is talked about in schools. (Katya Slepian/Black Press Media) |
Capalad is studying to be a teacher at UBC. Next year, sheB次元官网网址檒l graduate and wants to teach high school students.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 something I definitely want to address in the classroom,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淢aybe something that we need to teach our students is to be able to say B次元官网网址榥oB次元官网网址� and to respect that B次元官网网址榥o.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Capalad also struggles with how to teach teenagers about sexism.
B次元官网网址淭hey look at each other and think, B次元官网网址榳ell I donB次元官网网址檛 treat my friend thatB次元官网网址檚 a girl differently than my friend thatB次元官网网址檚 a boy,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲e forget that itB次元官网网址檚 a systemic thing, that itB次元官网网址檚 a societal thing where females arenB次元官网网址檛 considered as powerful as males.B次元官网网址�
Capalad hopes she can effect change.
Jane does as well. She reached out following her attackerB次元官网网址檚 trial, where Murray was found guilty on one count of sexual assault at the end of October and has since resigned from his seat on Pitt Meadows council and been let go from his job in the City of Port CoquitlamB次元官网网址檚 parks and recreation department.
B次元官网网址淚 just wanted to say thank you for writing such an honest piece around my trial. #metoo,B次元官网网址� she wrote.
Kinnarny is less positive.
Having also dealt with sexual assault outside the workplace, she finds those experiences seeping into her work.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l be having a conversation with a guy and then my heartbeat will get really fast and IB次元官网网址檒l start sweating and suddenly IB次元官网网址檓 in panic mode because my body associates men with violence.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗ow do you build a relationship, and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to be a romantic one, with another person when thatB次元官网网址檚 what you expect?B次元官网网址�
